Once Upon A Time
by Baley
Summary: Prequel to Who Would Have Thought. After getting trapped in the Cafe over night, Brooke and Haley must try to deal with the interesting new development in their relationship. See how they got their happily ever after. BALEY.
1. The Night Is Young

_Author's Note:_ Hey, all. I told you guys that I was going to be dropping off the prequel really soon. I actually wrote this a really long time ago, so if it sucks, blame Really Long Time Ago Me, not the me that is me today, you know? Anyway, this is just the start, so you can look forward to a lot more yummy Baleyness.

I just wanted to thank you all for all the support for the last story, and I'm glad that you guys were interested in reading this one. I hope that you'll continue to support me and review as much as you did for Who Would Have Though?

**…OUAT…**

Haley James sighed as she wiped down the counter at Karen's Café. Not more than two minutes ago, a stupid little brat had thought it would be funny to blow bubbles in his soda until it overflowed. Apparently his big brother thought it was hilarious too, so hilarious in fact, that they had to leave before they doubled over in laughter, leaving her to clean up the mess.

"Hey, sweetie," Karen greeted her as she came through the doors that led to the back. The newest chief had quit the other day, they were taking turns with the food until they found a replacement.

"Hey, Karen," she replied, making sure to keep her annoyance at the brat and brother in check. The last thing she wanted Karen to worry about was a mess. "The food was great today. I got lots of compliments to give you."

"Aw, that's sweet," the older woman replied, taking off her apron and shoving it in with the others. Once she was free from that, she moved over and started cleaning the dirty dishes that had been piling up. It had just been the two of them all day long, since Jake had called in saying Jenny was sick and Lori was off looking at colleges.

"I am so glad that this day is over," Haley admitted, wiping the cloth across the counter one last time before giving up and tossing it into the pile of dirty rags on the floor that needed to get cleaned.

"Me too," Karen told her, placing the last glass in the dishwasher and turning around to give the girl a smile. "I've had the biggest headache all day and my stomach is starting to feel sick. I think I might be getting whatever Jenny has."

"Why don't you head out then," Haley suggested, leaning against the counter to look Karen over. Now that she mentioned it, she did look a little pale. "I'm sure a little rest would do you some good cause you can't get sick on me. It looks like it's just gonna be us again tomorrow, so you can't bail."

"But there's still an hour until closing," Karen pointed out, feeling bad about leaving her here alone. She never let Haley close alone because it was too dangerous. There weren't many robberies in Tree Hill, but she didn't want to take the chance, especially with someone as important to her as Haley was.

"Don't sweat it," Haley waved it off, knowing that she wasn't going to give up without a fight, that woman worried about her too damn much. "It's pouring rain outside, I doubt that anyone is going to be coming in."

"Then we should just close early." Haley shook her head, pushing herself off the counter and over to the woman that was more of a mother to her than Lydia James was.

"You have not closed this café even a minute earlier than closing time since you opened it, and you're not going to start now."

"But…"

"No buts," Haley told her sternly, playfully pushing her towards the door. "You go home and feel better. I'll hang here for another hour. Maybe watch some of that television that you have hidden in the back and think I don't know about."

"It's broken," Karen admitted with a smile, knowing she'd been caught. She managed to grab her coat before Haley completely shoved her out the door. "There's that radio under the counter if you want to listen to it."

"I'll do that," Haley nodded, standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Karen because she hadn't left yet. She saw Karen was about to say something and rolled her eyes. "And I'll be sure to call if there's any sort of problem. I promise."

"And you'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Yes," Haley nodded empathically. "I know where everything is and I know how to lock up, I've seen you do it a million times. I'm not gonna burn down the café."

"It's not the café that I'm worried about," Karen corrected, making sure that Haley knew she was serious. God, she loved that girl as if she was her own. Haley features softened.

"I'll be fine," she promised her. Karen reached forward and brought her into a hug huge. "Thanks for worry about me, though."

"I always do." With one last hug and smile, Karen pulled her coat over her head and sprinted outside and into the pouring rain. Haley watched her run to her car and get inside. She waited until Karen drove by before moving back into the café.

"Good move, James," she mumbled to herself, looking around the empty café. "What are you gonna do now?" She clucked her tongue for a moment, eyeing the things around her. Deciding that there was nothing else she needed to do in way of cleaning up, she decided to get out the radio.

It took her a moment to find it, having to shuffle through all of the discarded aprons and everything. Finally, she found it at the very back and pulled it out.

"Ew," she whispered when she blew all the dust off of it. She couldn't remember the last time they had used this radio, if ever. The only reason why Karen had it was in case there was some kind of emergency that they needed to know what was going on.

Carefully, taking one of the aprons, she wiped the rest of the dust off the old thing and placed it on the counter where she had just finished cleaning. Throwing the apron back under the counter, she walked back around the counter and plopped down on the stool that was usually reserved for Peyton.

Peyton. Other than Lucas and Taylor, she was pretty much the only friend she had. Just thinking about how sad her life had become was depressing enough for her. The funny thing was, not even two months ago, she didn't even have Peyton as a friend, but suddenly it seemed that Lucas wasn't enough. Whether it was that quick glimpse she got into the popular world from her short stint as Nathan's almost girlfriend or not, she wanted more.

No, that wasn't it. She wasn't that lonely. She had Taylor, Lucas, Karen and Peyton, Skills, Fergie and all the other guys at the Rivercourt. No, she wanted more than that, she wanted something special. She wanted a boyfriend.

Letting out yet another depressed sigh, Haley turned the dial on the radio and started searching for a half descent song to listen to. The task was proving to be harder than she thought it would be, as most of the music stations were impossible to hear because of the damn storm outside. Even after hitting it a few times in frustration, she was unable to find a good song to listen to.

Suddenly, as if a light bulb went off in her head, Haley remembered that she had her bag stored in the bag from her horrid day at school. She quickly slid off the stool and disappeared into the back, returning with her bag in hand.

"Come on," she mumbled as she searched through it. She smiled triumphantly when she located the silver disk with the words 'Old School Jams' on it. She wasn't sure what was on it; Peyton had just given it to her the other day so she hadn't had a chance to listen to it yet. "I love you, Peyton."

She discarded her bag and placed the CD in the player and pressed play. She waited patiently for the first song to play. The biggest smile appeared on her lips when she heard the Spice Girls blaring through the speakers. She should have known. She bopped her head to the song, surprised and slightly embarrassed that she still remembered the words.

Frowning when she saw that she had spilt all her belongings from her bag, she slid off the stool and began to pick them up. Just as she was finishing, the song did as well. As she placed the bag on the closest table she felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the opening strings to 'I'll Be' by Edwin McCain. That used to be her favorite song, back when it was played on every single teen show there was. She didn't hesitate to turn it up as loud as it would go.

Realizing that no on else was around; Haley couldn't help but let her hips sway to the music. She could remember singing this up in her room all the time when she was alone in the house. She would never do it if Taylor were home; she absolutely refused to sing in front of anyone. It was just her policy. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed the spoon that was on the counter and used it as a mic, singing her heart out along with the song.

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful  
Stop me and steal my breath  
Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky  
Never revealing their depth  
Tell me that we belong together  
Dress it up with the trappings of love  
I'll be captivated  
I'll hang from your lips  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

"Damn, Tutor Girl," came a voice from behind her. Haley let out a scream, dropping the spoon. She quickly turned around to come face to face with a soaked, but smiling, Brooke Davis. Haley quickly leaned back and turned down the volume. "You killed that song. I didn't know you could sing." 

"I can't," Haley quickly responded, cursing herself for making such a fool of herself. There goes being in the cool crowd, Brooke Davis was the queen of Tree Hill after all. "I mean, I don't."

"Well you should cause you have an amazing voice," Brooke told her as placed her purse on the nearest table and she began to ring out her soaking wet hair. It took Haley a moment to realize that Brooke was wet, before she sprung into action.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," she apologized, stepping forward. "Here, come into the back, I think there's towels and stuff back there." Not arguing with that offer, Brooke followed Haley into the back where she was presented with two freshly washed towels and a new set of clothes to wear.

"Do you guys have a store back here or something?" Brooke teased, taking the clothes out of Haley's hands and tossing them on the old couch while she dried off. "Why this there an extra set of clothes back here?"

"Oh, they're mine," Haley admitted, standing by the door, getting ready to leave her alone while she changed. "Sometimes I get changed here after school or I'll spill crap all over myself, which I'm actually prone to do sometimes. Like babbling, which I'm doing right now."

"It's okay," Brooke assured her, smiling slightly at the other girl. She'd never really talked to her before, just knew of her through Peyton and Nathan, Lucas as well to an extent. She seemed like a nice enough girl from what she knew. Cute as hell to boot, if you asked her. "Thanks for the clothes."

"Sure, I'll just…" Haley trailed off, pointing in the direction of the door. Brooke nodded and continued to pat her hair down with the towel. Haley watched her for a moment longer before shaking her head and quickly moving back into the front.

The first thing that she noticed when she entered the front was Brooke Silver Bug parked right out front. The second thing she noticed was that Brooke's passenger side window was opened slightly. Haley rolled her eyes, figuring that Brooke was probably the only person that would be able to be driving out in the rain without noticing that he window was open.

She was about to yell the information to Brooke, but decided that she had just gotten dry, she didn't need to get wet all over again. Haley sighed and walked over to Brooke's purse, which was sitting nicely on table 5. She smiled when she saw the keys near the top and grabbed them.

Against her better judgment, Haley took a deep breath, pushed the front door open and jogged out into the pouring rain, towards Brooke's car. She quickly managed to get the door unlocked and started to roll up the window.

"Hey, Tutor Girl," Brooke called as she pushed open the door and walked back into the front. "This shirt is really cute. Where'd you get it?" It took Brooke a moment to realize that Haley wasn't in the café anymore. "Tutor Girl?"

It didn't take her long to spot Haley sitting in her car. She took a few steps forward, coming out from behind the counter to see what she was doing. Before she could figure it out, Haley was dashing back towards the café, completely drenched. Brooke moved back, giving her room to enter.

"What was that all about?" Brooke asked in amusement, eyeing Haley as she whipped her head around, trying to get the extra water out of it. Brooke tossed her the still semi dry towel she had in her hand. Haley gladly took it and began to rub her hair furiously with it. Great, now she was going to frizz. Just what she needed Brooke Davis to see. "I didn't know that you liked to go dancing in the rain."

"Last time I do you any favors," Haley mumbled, not believing that Brooke was teasing her after she just saved her car from getting extremely damaged. Without waiting for a reply, Haley brushed past her and into the back, hoping that she had another pair of clothes back there. She really should have thought this one through.

"What?"

"You left your window open," Haley called out to her, her voice slightly echoed by the closet she was looking through. She fought the urge to growl when she couldn't find any more clothes. Good job, Hales, just great. "I knew you had just gotten dry, so I ran out and closed it for you."

"Oh." Brooke was surprised that Haley would do that. She couldn't think of one of her friends that would be willing to get their hair and outfits ruined just to save her car. Not even Peyton would risk ruining the hair for her. "Thanks."

"No problem," Haley said, breezing back into the room with the towel wrapped around her head and her wet clothes clinging to her body. Brooke looked at her for a moment, her eyes glued to the sexy form in front of her. _'Where the hell has Tutor Girl been hiding that fine ass body?'_

"Aren't you gonna change?"

"No more clothes," Haley answered quickly, moving directly towards the kettle. "You want some hot chocolate?"

"Sure," Brooke answered without a second thought, sliding onto the stool that Haley had been sitting in before. She watched Haley move around, trying her hardest not to check out her ass. "You want these clothes back? I mean, it's not fair for you to have to be wet…"

"Don't sweat it," Haley waved off, not bothering to look back. She didn't want Brooke seeing her without her makeup on. This night was already going bad enough, that was about the last thing she needed right now. "It'll only be for another forty five minutes, anyway."

"Not anymore," Brooke corrected. Haley quickly glanced over her shoulder, indicating that she should continue. "Well, why do you think I'm in here? Main Street is still blocked off from that stupid parade and Oak is almost completely flooded. The guy on the radio said that the storm was only going to get worse, and anyone driving should pull over immediately and get inside somewhere."

"And you chose here?"

"Well it was either here with you," Brooke began, suddenly thinking that this wasn't the worst way she could be spending her Saturday night. "Or across the street in that butchery with the fat guy that talks to the meat. There are way too many knives in there for my liking."

"So basically I was the lesser of two evils?"

"Or the hotter of two evils," Brooke pointed out, making sure to keep her voice light so Haley wouldn't think anything of it. Haley rolled her eyes at her words, knowing she was just making fun of her.

"You wanna turn the radio on?" Haley asked her, as she started making the hot chocolate. Brooke did as she was told without a word and found the clearest radio station she could find. "I wanna know if we're trapped in here for the rest of the night."

Brooke nodded her head, even though she knew that Haley couldn't see her. They sat in silence for a moment, the voice of the DJ the only thing that could be heard in the entire café. Finally, after what felt like forever to Brooke, the silence got to her and she had to say something.

"So how come you don't like to sing?" shed asked out of the blue. That was really the only thing she could think of to ask. She say Haley freeze for a moment, before continuing to drop marshmallows into the drinks, as if nothing had been said. "I mean, I only heard a few seconds of it, but you sounded amazing. You should sing in the Talent Show."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Haley agreed, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She turned around and placed the steaming liquid in from of Brooke. "That way when I get up there and my voice cracks on the first note because I'm so damn nervous to be in front of so many people that think I'm a freak, you and your little cheerleader friends can mock me for the rest of the year." Brooke looked at her in shock. "No thanks."

"I didn't…" Truth was, Brooke didn't know what to say.

"Whatever," Haley waved her off, not wanting to get into this. "What do you wanna do all night?" Before she had a chance to say anything, Haley unwrapped the towel that was on her head and let her hair loose, her locks wavy and wet. All Brooke could do was stare. A wet and pissed off Haley equaled sexy as hell. This was going to be a long ass night.

**…OUAT…**

That's all she wrote for now. I know, I know, there was no smoochies or anything, but I promise that they will come. I think the Café scene will definitely be a few chapters long; it's the beginning of this whole journey after all. Please tell me what you thought, and I'll try to update ASAP.

Thanks.


	2. We Kinda Used to be Friends

_Author's Note:_ Hey everyone. I'm here with a quick update. I'm so glad that you guys all liked the first chapter and are as excited about this story as I am. This chapter isn't the best, but I really wanted to get another one out to you. You may be confused with the way they interact compared to how I described their relationship in WWHT, but all of that drama is coming, I promise.

I kinda rewrote history with this chapter, and I'm not too sure, but there's a good chance that I may not be sticking to exactly what I wrote in earlier chapters of WWHT, I can't remember or be bothered to check, so I'm sorry in advance.

Please enjoy this chapter and please, _please_ remember to leave me a review.

**…OUAT…**

"Then this creepy looking guy, I swear he had to be at least 40, came up to me and asked me if it hurt when I fell from Heaven," Brooke told her, laughing in all the right places during her story. Haley blinked a couple of times to make sure that she was still awake, and nodded her head so Brooke would think that she was actually listening to what she was saying. "I mean, come on! How many times have you heard that line?"

"Oh, um," Haley stuttered, surprised at Brooke's question. She hadn't said anything in about ten minutes, and she was starting to think that Brooke's story was never going to end. "A few?"

"I know, right?" Brooke continued, not catching the hesitance in Haley's voice at all. She brought the mug to her lips and chugged down the last of her now luke warm hot chocolate. When she placed the empty cup back on the counter, Haley jumped at the chance for something to do and quickly grabbed it, moving around the counter to wash it out. Brooke watched Haley's movements with a raised eyebrow, and waited to continue her story, but she noticed Haley's posture with a smile. "I'm boring you, huh?"

"What?" Haley asked, genuinely surprised that Brooke could tell that she was bored. Well, no, she was sure that was obvious, what she was more surprised about was the fact that Brooke would even take the time to actually notice that she was bored out of her mind. She glanced over her shoulder to be meet with Brooke's knowing smirk before she quickly turned back around and busied herself with cleaning the mug. "No, no, you're not boring me."

"Yes, I am," Brooke argued, playfully. People may think that she was self absorbed, but she knew when someone was listening to her or not. She learned that after many years of friendship with Peyton, a girl that couldn't care less about most of the things that she talked about. "You had that vacant look in your eyes that Peyton gets everytime I open my mouth, and you practically jumped at the chance to wash that."

"That was just…" she trailed off, trying to think of something. The last thing that she wanted to do was offended the queen of Tree Hill High. She wanted friends, and not listening to the most popular girl in school when she was talking to you, wasn't the way to make them. "I'm a very clean person."

"You're a very bored person," Brooke corrected with a laugh. She couldn't help but noticed the way that Haley's whole body moved as she scrummed her mug. She tried not to think about how weird her thoughts were as she folded her arms and leaned against the counter to get a better look. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand and watched the other girl in amusement. "It's okay, Tutor Girl, really."

"I wasn't not listening," Haley tried, knowing that she had been caught. She sighed, and turned off the water, placing the mug on the counter beside the sink and turning around to meet Brooke's delighted face. "I'm just not really into… Okay, fine. I completely zoned out about two minutes into your story."

"I knew it," Brooke cheered, leaning back and clapping her hands in glee at her observation. Not many people knew that about her, but she was really good at reading people, she always knew what they were thinking, what they were feeling. "I'm sorry I'm sure a bore to you. You know, most people think I'm absolutely fabulous."

"Well, I'm not most people," Haley offered sheepishly, hoping that she didn't hurt Brooke's feelings by her actions. Judging by the cute smile on her face, Haley could only assume that she didn't. The smile on Brooke's face didn't disappear at her words, but it turned into a more genuine one.

"No," she agreed, as if just realizing this now. She titled her head to the side slightly; like she was trying to get a better look at Haley in hopes of understanding how she worked or something. "You're not."

"Is that a good thing?" Haley asked with an uncomfortable laugh, not liking the way that Brooke's eyes were roaming her pretty exposed body. She unconsciously began to tug at her shirt, her eyes moving down to see just how wet her clothes were. God, she was giving Brooke an eyeful.

"Definitely," Brooke assured her. She noticed that Haley was growing uncomfortable under her gaze and quickly averted it, looking around the café for a more appropriate item to ogle. "So, um, if you're not interesting in my amazingly interested clubbing adventures, then what would you like to talk about?"

"We could talk about you," Haley suggested, dropping the towel she had been using beside Brooke's mug, and moved back around the counter, sitting back on her stool beside Brooke.

"We were just talking about me," Brooke stated confused. Haley smiled at her and shook her head, finding her confusion endearing, when she used to find it annoying and stupid. "And I was boring you."

"That wasn't you," Haley pointed out, her eyes softening. She didn't think of it before, but she just realized that Brooke was probably so used to trying to impress people with her sexual history, that she didn't even think to talk to her about something real, something about herself. "I mean, about your family, what you do for fun, what you want to do when you go to college, what your favorite movie is, TV show, you know, that kind of thing."

"I've never really talked about that stuff with anyone," Brooke mused, thinking about everything that Haley just suggested. Haley was right, she never talked about the stuff that mattered to her with her friends, it was always just superficial stuff, like how hot a certain guy was, or the latest fashion that was out. "Bevin, Theresa and the rest of the squad aren't exactly that interested in that kind of stuff."

"Well I am," Haley smiled brightly at her, starting to get some of her confidence back. The more she talked with the Brooke, the more she seemed to realize that Brooke Davis wasn't really the person that she showed to the student body, she was just like Haley. She patted Brooke on the knee encouragingly. "Come on, tell me all about your plans for the future."

"You'll think it's dumb," Brooke decided out loud. As the words left her mouth, Brooke realized how nervous and unsure she sounded. She couldn't remember the last time that she had felt this way in front of someone. It was like she was trying to get Haley's approval or something. "I mean, you're all Brain Girl or whatever, you're probably planning on being a doctor or something."

"I actually don't know what I want to be yet," Haley answered back in honesty. She knew that a lot of people assumed that just because she worked really hard to get good grades that she had her future all mapped out, but the truth was, Brooke was more likely more certain about her future than she was. Brooke looked at her in surprise at her confession. Haley laughed slightly and waved it off. "I still got a couple of years before I've got to worry about that. But stop trying to change the subject, out with it. What's your dream job?"

"I've kinda always wanted to be an actress," Brooke confessed with a sheepish look, afraid to look at Haley in fear of seeing an amused look on her face. She finally looked up at Haley and was happy to see that she didn't seem to think that Brooke was stupid at all.

"That's not dumb."

"I figure I'd be good at something like that," Brooke continued; glad to see that Haley wasn't laughing in her face for having such a shallow dream. "I mean, the way I am at school, that's kind of like an act, you know? So, I might as well get paid for it. Not to mention that I love to be adored."

"What a shocker," Haley teased. See, she knew that Brooke could be interesting. She knew that she could have an intelligent conversation with her, if she just chose the subject. She just needed to get Brooke to understand that she didn't need to put up her superficial mask with her; she wasn't interesting in the fake Brooke. "Have you ever acted in anything before?"

"Just life," Brooke answered as if it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't until just now, that Brooke realized just how much she was missing out on. High school was supposed to be about finding yourself, and about hanging out with your friends, making relationships that should last your entire life. What was she doing? "How am I doing so far?"

"I'd say pretty good," Haley answered, careful not to offend her in anyway. She wasn't exactly sure what answer Brooke was looking for. Brooke didn't seem to mind the answer, since she was expecting it, and just smiled at her. "Are you acting now?"

"Nope," she simply answered, avoiding eye contact with Haley. She didn't think that Haley would hurt her or anything, but she suddenly felt really vulnerable around Haley. She couldn't remember the last time that she had let her guard down like this. When she was around Peyton, she tended to tone it down a little bit, but she still acting ditzy sometimes. She wasn't sure what it was about Haley, but she felt like she could be herself without the risk of getting hurt. "Right now, I'm 100 genuine Brooke Davis."

"Well, don't I feel privileged?" Haley laughed it off as if it didn't matter much to her, but for some reason, knowing that Brooke was comfortable enough to be herself around her, it made her feel really special.

"You should," Brooke teased, finally regaining eye contact. "I don't just let anyone see the real me, you know?"

"So what makes me so special?" The moment the words left her lips, Haley wished that she could take them back, but it was too late. She didn't want Brooke to get uncomfortable, or feel like she had to say something to her stupid question. She knew that she have just been happy that Brooke trusted her enough, but for some reason, she just needed to know the answer.

"You're just you," Brooke answered, eyeing Haley, trying to figure it out for herself. Haley felt nervous under her gaze but tried to play it off. The last thing she wanted was for Brooke to think she had that power over her. "You're different then everyone that I usually hang out with. Like what you did before, when you went out to save my car. I honestly can't think of one of my friends that would have done that for me."

"Lord knows Peyton wouldn't mess up the do," Haley laughed, glad that Brooke didn't seem too bothered by her prying.

"Oh God, least of all her," Brooke laughed with her. "Not to mention the fact that she's always hated my car."

"Aw, but it's so cute," Haley insisted. She shook her head, picturing the look of disgust on Peyton's face at the sight of Brooke's very girly car. She could definitely see Peyton hating it, especially compared to her old black mustang. "I would love to have a car like that. Or any car for that matter."

"Aw, you don't have a car?" Brooke asked, suddenly feeling the need to change the roles in this situation. As much as she loved to talk about herself, and that was a lot, she really wanted to know more about Haley for some reason. Haley rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"God, no," Haley blew out, finding the mere suggestion hilarious. "There is no way in hell that my parent would ever buy me a car."

"That sucks," Brooke told her, as if she didn't know or that it would make her feel better. She couldn't imagine what she would do without her car; it was her baby. "Why don't you just save up some money and buy one yourself? I mean, you have a job and everything, right?"

"Because this is for college," Haley answered, sliding off her stool to move behind the counter again. Brooke watched her and she moved around, grabbing a box of something and making her way over towards to toaster. Haley glanced back at her, noticing that she was watching her. "Want anything? I'm just making some pancakes."

"Uh, sure," Brooke answered, unsurely. She thought it was weird that a café would have frozen pancakes, but she didn't want to say anything at the moment.

"Anyway," Haley continued as shoved the pancakes in and started it. She tossed the box back into the mini fridge beneath the counter and decided it would be best just to stay on that side for now, and leaned forward, resting her forearms on the cool mantel and turned to face Brooke. "Karen opened this place up a few years ago, and I applied for the job the first day. She didn't even look at my resume or anything, just tossed me an apron and the rest is history."

"How old were you?" Brooke asked. A part of her just wanted to picture an adorable little Haley, but the other part of her was really curious. She couldn't picture herself having a job now, let alone at whatever young age Haley must have gotten her job. "13 or 14?"

"I think I was a few months away 14," Haley replied, trying to remember in her head. She thought back to that year and nodded. "Yeah, cause it was a little bit after Christmas, and my parents had actually taken the time to drop by. They suggested that since I was heading into high school, I should get a job, because Taylor couldn't afford to buy me lunch everyday or something like that."

"Ouch," Brooke hissed under her breath. "So let me get this straight. You're parents not only refuse to buy you a car, they aren't paying for your college, they forced you to get a job before you're legally allowed and they don't even feed you?" Haley frowned when she thought about it like that. She never really thought things were _that_ bad for her, but now that she thought about it, maybe they were kinda harsh.

"Well, they're never home, so they feel that they shouldn't have to pay for the groceries," Haley reasoned, repeating the words that her and her sister had been told countless times. "Apparently it's enough that they continue to pay the rent on a house they barely even live in anymore, and we should be grateful that they don't sell it and make us move into some crappy apartment."

"That's horrible," Brooke exclaimed, not believing that there were actually parents out there that were like that. Sure, her parents were hardly ever home, and all they did for her was sent her money, but she never really thought about what it would be like if they didn't even care enough to do that.

"It's not that bad," Haley shrugged, smirking at the genuine look of pure shock and disgust on Brooke's face. It was pretty sad when even Brooke Davis felt bad for you. No, that wasn't fair, Haley thought. So far Brooke was being very nice. "Karen's really great, she's always been my mom anyway, you know? She always gives me good hours and makes sure that Tay and me are okay."

"Taylor's your sister, right?" Haley nodded, figuring that Brooke had probably heard of her through school. Her big sister certainly had a reputation at Tree Hill High. Haley thought she could probably give Brooke a run for her money in the whoring around town department, as sad as that was. "I've heard a lot about her. You guys get along?"

"Amazingly well," Haley asked with a proud smile. Not many people knew it, but Taylor James had the best heart of anyone that she knew. She didn't show it to many people, but she certainly showed it to Haley, and there was no one that she loved more than her big sister. "We're complete opposites really, as I'm sure you can gather from everything that you've heard, but when it comes down to it, we've the same."

"I don't doubt it," Brooke promised, smiling at the way Haley's eyes lit up when she talked about her sister. "I've learned first hand never to believe everything that you hear. I'm sure she wasn't as bad as people make her out to be."

"Oh, I'm sure she was," Haley laughed. Yes, she loved Taylor dearly, but she wasn't stupid. She knew more than anyone what her sister's faults were. "I think she's just like you, maybe. She acts a certain way around everybody, like she's trying to prove something to them, or maybe she's just trying to protect herself from something, I don't know, but she's never been anyone but herself with me."

"That sounds about right," Brooke answered, her voice husky as she looked eyes with Haley. She found it so hard to believe that the girl in front of her, the one that she had never really spoken to directly for longer than two minutes, could nail her so perfectly after just spending twenty minutes together. "How do you know me so well?"

"We're not as different as you may think, Brooke," Haley replied, keeping a steady lock on her gaze. If anyone else had said that to her, Brooke would have told them to go get bent because she didn't think that anyone understood her, but it seemed like Haley did.

"I guess we're not," she agreed, a sad smile on her face. For some reason she hated the thought of someone as amazing as Haley having to deal with the same things as she had to deal with. "You know, my parents aren't really around that much either."

"Yeah, I know," Haley replied without thinking. As soon as her words registered in her head, she snapped her eyes shut and hoped that Brooke didn't call her on it. She never planned on bringing that up. Now that she thought about it, that was probably where most of her premeditated Brooke hate had come from. How could she have not thought of that before?

"Peyton?" Brooke assumed, not surprised that her best friend might have discussed this with Haley. She noticed the pained look on Haley's face and rose her eyebrow. "Tutor Girl? Did Peyton tell you about my parents?"

"No," she forced out, opening her eyes and meeting Brooke's inquiring ones. "I just remember, that's all." God, she really hoped that Brooke would just drop it now, but even she knew Brooke Davis well enough to know that wasn't going to happen.

"You remember?" Brooke raked her brain for any idea of what Haley was talking about, but she came up empty. Should she know what Haley was talking about? She felt like she should. "What do you remember?"

"I remember they were never there when I came over," she answered, silently cursing herself in her head for saying this. She should have just let it go and pretended it was nothing. But no, Haley James just never knew when to shut up. "The maid, Maria, I think her names was, she would always tell us it was time to go to bed, and then she'd come up and tuck us in."

"Wh… what?" Brooke stuttered, not able to find her voice. What the hell was Haley talking about? How did she know about Maria? Haley had never stepped foot inside her house let alone slept over, had she? No, she definitely would have remembered something like that. She saw the disappointed and hurt flash in Haley's eyes for a split second before it disappeared. "I don't remember…"

"I know," Haley shook her head sadly, trying to reassure Brooke that it was okay. She didn't expect anything else. "I think it was the summer between the second and third grade. Lucas was away at some basketball camp all summer and I think Peyton was with her dad on some boat trip. I don't even remember where we met up; I think we just sort of gravitated towards each other because we were both best friendless or something. All I know is that we were together all summer, I think I practically lived at your house."

Brooke desperately tried to think of that summer, wanting more than anything to remember what had happened. She couldn't believe that she had already had this relationship with Haley before. But what was even more unbelievable was that she had somehow ruined it. Looking up at Haley's expression now, she had a feeling that it was her fault that they weren't till friends.

"Oh my God," she whispered, the memories finally returning. "I totally remember that. We went swimming everyday before breakfast and then we would spend the whole day up in my room. You got me hooked on My Little Pony!"

"Guilty as charged," Haley smirked, holding her hands up in a surrendering fashion. She was happier than she'd ever admit that Brooke remembered that summer. "Hey, I had to get you off of Barbie, those things were so passé."

"God, Peyton almost had a fit when she came back and I had thrown away all of my Barbies," Brooke giggled at the memory, before they both feel into fits of laughter at the thought of an eight year old Peyton coming home to that. "She'll never admit it, but she was so obsessed with those damn things."

"I can totally picture that," Haley giggled, imagine her friend now playing with a Barbie doll. After another moment, the girls sobered and calmed down, silence filling the room, as they were both lost in their own thoughts. Haley's eyes wandered to the hard surface under her arms, trying to decide if she should say what happened next. "I came to your house one day and Maria answered the door when I knocked. I asked where you were, cause Taylor thought I should invite you over to our house for the night because she really wanted to meet you, and Maria said that you were at Peyton's house."

"She and her dad came home early," Brooke offered, even though it was completely irrelevant. At the time, she remembered that she really liked Haley, but she always thought that she could only have one best friend, and that was Peyton. And she remembered some of the kids in her class making fun of Haley sometimes because she wouldn't wear dresses.

"Yeah, I figured," Haley mumbled, still staring at the counter. She picked at the edge for a moment, before letting out a baffled sigh, still not understanding what had happened between them all those years ago, and shook her head. "But whatever, right? It was a long time ago. We were just kids."

"I'm sorry," Brooke whispered, even though Haley said it wasn't necessary. She knew that Haley wasn't the kind of girl to demand an apology, she seemed like the kind of girl that wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs, but she still felt the need to say something. "I was a stupid kid back then. I never should have blown you off like that."

"Yeah," Haley nodded, trying to smile at her, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She bit her lip like she always did when she was nervous. She searched Brooke's eyes for any sign of insincerity, but she couldn't find any. "But that night of the Pickerington game, when you were all drugged up, you said and I quote that 'we should totally hang out more often'. That night, I had a great time hanging out with you and Peyton, well Pey mostly, but when you were conscious, you were cool. I was happy that I had made some friends, but then the next day, you guys completely ditched me, you didn't even give me a second glance."

Brooke let her words wash over her, and her heart nearly broke at the sadness and hurt in the other girl's voice. Truth be told, she had always felt bad about the way she had handled that situation the next day. She remembered Peyton saying something about it when they were with the squad in the courtyard. She told them she was going to go say hi to Haley, and they just looked at her like she was crazy. Brooke had quickly done damage control and talked her out of it. She would never forget the look on Haley's face that day when they ignored her. She couldn't remember ever feeling more horrible about something in her entire life.

"Haley…" she tried, fighting past the lump in her throat. Haley meet her gaze, waiting to hear what she had to say for herself. The words got lost on Brooke's lips at the look on Haley's face. Before she could find her voice, the snap between them interrupted her. Haley stared at Brooke's pleading eyes for a moment longer, neither moving, before she snapped out of it, and turned around to get the pancakes.

As soon as her back was turned, Haley closed her eyes and gripped the edge of the counter, trying to steady herself. She couldn't believe that she had just said all that stuff to Brooke. She had never planned on talking about that ever again, and now here she was, trapped with the girl for the whole night, and she was bringing up painful memories. Not the best thing to do.

"You want syrup?" Haley asked over her shoulder, making sure to keep herself busy with getting plates and utensils for them. Brooke closed her eyes, cursing herself for not saying anything moments ago.

"Yeah," she whispered, not knowing what else to say. She watched silently as Haley moved around the back, getting everything that would need. Brooke noticed that Haley knew exactly were everything was, like she'd be able to find her way around with her eyes closed. She must spend a lot of time there, she figured.

"Me and Lucas always eat these for breakfast," Haley explained, turning around with a fake smile plastered on her face as she placed Brooke's plate in front of her and handed her a fork.

"Thanks," she mumbled, uneasy at the look on Haley's face. She knew that she should still say something to explain her actions from before, but it looked like Haley didn't want to talk about it anymore. And a big part of Brooke didn't want to either.

"Lucas always felt bad that Karen and me always cooked for him, so he wanted to make up for it," Haley continued to talk, afraid of what Brooke might as if she stopped. She wanted to drop that stuff, talk about happier things. She reached over to the forgotten stereo and turned it back on, keeping it low for background noise. "He soon learned that he's incapable of cooking anything, so he settled on frozen pancakes and soon enough we were both hooked on them. It's our little tradition you know?"

"Me and Peyton have things like that," Brooke answered, poking at her food for a moment before taking a bit. Haley was right, they were good. "We go to the mall every Tuesday to check out the new CDs."

"That's cool," Haley nodded, glad that Brooke seemed like she was going to drop it too. Tonight was her chance to become friends with Brooke, to get into the popular crowd and not be such a loner anymore. She wasn't going to blow it like she did both those other times. She didn't know what she had done wrong those other times, but she wasn't going to do them again.

"These are good," Brooke commented with a mouth full of pancakes. Haley was brought out of her thoughts by her words. She glanced up at Brooke and started laughing at her, shaking her head in amusement. It took Brooke a moment to realize what she was laughing at and she started to join in.

"Thanks." Haley shook her head again, watch Brooke continue to chow down on the food with a smile. Maybe this night wouldn't be so hard after all. Things were going okay so far.

**…OUAT…**

I'm sorry if there is any spelling mistakes or other kinds of mistakes, but it's too late to reread this completely. So, just try your best to ignore them please.

Don't forget to leave a review.


	3. These Games We Play

_Author's Note:_ Hello, guys. It's been awhile, huh? Anyway, I finally sat down and wrote something. Just to be warned, it's not the best, and I'm really not happy with it at all, but I thought you guys deserved something so I dropped this off anyway. I'm having a harder time with this Cafe stuff than I thought I would, but I'm gonna try to think of something, I promise. Anyway, enjoy and please review.

**...OUAT...**

"What to play a game?" Brooke asked out of nowhere. She hated the silence, she really did. She figured she be used to it, since her house is always empty, but she just hated silence. Whenever there was silence, she was always the first to break it.

"What kind of game do you have in mind?" Haley mused, glancing over to watch Brooke stare out the window. After the two of them had finished their pancakes, neither wanted to return back to the conversation they had been having before, and Brooke quickly moved over to the window, plopping down on a chair and watched the rain pelt down on the road.

"I don't know," Brooke shrugged, spinning on the ledge so she was ignoring the rain and facing Haley. The other girl was still wet, and Brooke was still having a hard time trying to ignore that, but as long as she forced her eyes to look at Haley's face, and as long as Haley stayed behind the counter, she figured she'd be okay. "We could play True or Dare."

"I hate that game," Haley immediately answered, already knowing that was going to be Brooke's suggestion. "Plus, there's only two of us, so that's no fun, and from what I've heard, your games of True and Dare tend to get a little out of hand."

"And who told you that?" Brooke asked with a smirk. She certainly wasn't going to deny the claim; it couldn't of been truer. Her games of Truth or Dare were legendary, but she was surprised that a nobody like Haley James knew that.

"Hey," Haley replied in a fake offended tone. She threw the towel over her shoulder and placed her hands on her hips. "I hear stuff!" Brooke looked at her and raised an eyebrow, telling her that she wasn't buying it. Seeing this, Haley let out a sigh and slumped her shoulders. "Nathan mentioned it."

"I should have known," Brooke smiled triumphantly, flashing Haley her winning smile, dimples in full adorable mode. Haley quickly looked away, not wanting to get caught under Brooke's spell. It happened so many times before, Brooke would flash her amazing smile and she would melt. Just like everyone did.

And the worst part was that Brooke knew exactly what effect her smile had on everyone around her. How could she not know? Haley would watch Brooke use her smile to get out of everything. She would stroll into class an hour late and the teacher wouldn't say a word. Haley was sure she used that to get into clubs and get all the alcohol she wanted.

Haley smiled on the inside. It wasn't going to work on her tonight though because Haley wouldn't let it work. Brooke may have a winning smile that got her out of anything, but Haley had the cutest pout around that did the exact same thing. Though, unlike Brooke, she reserved it for special people; Taylor, Lucas, Peyton and Karen. She only used it for extreme circumstances because one day, Brooke's smile was going to stop working, but if Haley was careful, she'd be able to use her pout for the rest of her life.

"So what's the deal with you two, anyway?" Brooke inquired with a smirk, her smile getting bigger when she saw the look on Haley's face at the question. "Are you all hot and heavy like everyone is saying?"

"Everyone's saying something?" Haley couldn't believe it. People were talking about her and Nathan? People even knew who she was? Haley was having a really hard time wrapping her head around it. Brooke nodded. "About me?"

"Nathan Scott is the king of Tree Hill High," Brooke told her as if Haley didn't go to the school or something. Haley rolled her eyes at Brooke obvious statement and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter. "You've been seen with him a number of times, and not just in a tutorly manner. Of course people are going to talk."

"First," Haley began, pulling the towel off her shoulder and dropping it on the counter so she had something to do with her hands. "Tutorly? That's not a word." Brooke rolled her eyes and got up, strolling back over to the counter.

"And second?" she questioned, stopping behind the stool she had been sitting in before, but not sitting down, not when Haley would be that close to her.

"There's nothing to talk about," Haley sighed, pushing herself off the counter, getting uncomfortable with Brooke so near her. "I just tutor him, we're just friends."

"Yeah right," Brooke laughed, finding that very idea to be hilarious. "Friends With Benefits, maybe."

"I would never do that," Haley immediately denied, feeling disgusted at the very thought. She hated girls that did that, the kind that treated sex and even making out so casual. She couldn't stomach to watch the girls at school get strung along by some guy, willing and ready to please him whenever it was convenient to him. She couldn't imagine that any girl would be so willing to degrade herself like that, they had to think that there was some kind of hope for them to be serious, they had to have feelings for the guy. Either way, she couldn't picture doing that to herself, it was just pathetic.

"First," she began, mocking Haley in a playful way, ignoring Haley attitude towards FWB. "Nathan Scott isn't just friends with girls. Never had been, never will be."

"What about you?" Haley knew Brooke and Nathan weren't exactly bestest friends, nothing like her and Lucas were, but she knew they hung out together, she'd seen them hang out together. Not to mention that Nathan had mentioned her a few times during their talks. "You guys are friends and you're not dating."

"We've slept together," Brooke informed her, but brushed it off like it was no big deal because it really wasn't. To her and Nathan, sleeping with someone wasn't a big deal, especially when it was with another person who didn't think it was a big deal. Haley's eyes widened, almost popping out of her face at the information. Nathan had never mentioned that. "It was just a one night thing, we were plastered. We mentioned it the next day and just went on with our lives. Besides, I'd hardly call me and Nathan friends."

"Have you slept with everyone?" Haley asked before she could stop herself. The moment the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them, just realizing how truly offensive they were. Her face immediately fell and she was quick to apologize. "Oh, God, that didn't sound right."

"Don't worry about it, Tutor Girl," Brooke tried to tell her, giving her a sad smile. It wasn't like she didn't deserve the statement, it might as well be true, but it didn't make it hurt any less. If someone else had said that, Brooke wouldn't have hesitated to slap them, or at least bitch them out, but she could see the genuinely sorry look on Haley's face and she couldn't even find it in her to be mad at the poor girl.

"I just have this problem," Haley began to ramble. "I tend to say what I'm thinking sometimes, and it usually sounds way more offensive then I meant it to be. Like right there, I totally didn't mean for it to sounds that way. I didn't mean to, like, call you a slut or anything because you're totally not. I don't even know you. So I shouldn't judge by what I've heard or what you just told me, which was probably supposed to be in confidence, which I seriously just blew…"

"You're cute when you ramble," Brooke commented, hoping that off the wall comment would slow down Haley's non-stop run on sentence. Just like she had hoped, her words had stopped Haley in her tracks.

"What?" Brooke couldn't help but smile at the completely confused look on Haley's face. She didn't know why, out of all of the things that she could have said to stop Haley's rant, she had to say that. Maybe she and Haley had more in common than she thought. They both tended to say what they were thinking.

"I said you're cute when you ramble," she repeated, tilting her head to the side to watch Haley's reaction. She was surprised when Haley looked genuinely shocked at the words, before her face broke out in a full blush. It was like no one had ever said that to her before. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that?"

"No," Haley admitted, feeling stupid for being so affected by such a little comment. She didn't know why, but hearing that from Brooke, it just gave her the weirdest feeling in the put of her stomach. It was kind of like the fluttering she used to get in her stomach when Nathan would flirt with her, but it was so much more intense.

"Really?" Brooke couldn't believe that. She had only spent an hour with the girl, and she already knew that Haley was probably the most adorable thing in the entire world. Haley nodded her head, not meeting her eyes. "I find that hard to believe."

"Well, um," Haley tried, trying not to stutter in embarrassment. "I mean, Taylor tells me that all the time. And Karen does too, but they're, you know, they're Tay and Karen."

"Yeah, so?"

"Taylor's my big sister," she clarified. "Of course she's gonna say that. And Karen's pretty much my mom, so it's the same with her. I've never really believed them."

"Nathan's never told you that?" Brooke asked with that evil smirk of her's. For some strange reason, Brooke was finding herself hoping he hadn't. If she didn't know any better, she would think she was almost jealous of Nathan, which was completely strange considering she'd never been jealous of other girls when they were seeing her 'boyfriends', yet she was jealous of a guy that may or may not be dating a girl that she had only been talking to for an hour?

"We're not dating," Haley said again, this time making sure that Brooke believed her. She didn't know how many times or how many different ways she could say it, but she would keep repeating it until Brooke believed her. Ignoring the party she was throwing on the inside, Brooke gave Haley a disbelieving look. "We're not."

"I've seen the way Nathan looks at you," Brooke teased her, ignoring the bitter feelings she suddenly had. "He totally wants to get with that. And there's no way you would say no. Nobody would say no to Nathan Scott."

"It's not that," Haley admitted, not knowing why she was even going to talk about this with Brooke. Peyton has asked her about it last week, and she didn't want to talk about it, but for some reason, she felt the need to explain herself to Brooke. She sighed and leaned back against the back counter, watching as Brooke finally sat back down in her stool. "It just…never happened."

"What do you mean?" _Way to torture yourself, Davis,_ she chastised herself, trying to figure out why she was so interested in this conversation. Whenever the girls on the squad talked about Nathan and Haley, she was never really interested in what they were saying, not that it was much because Peyton would immediately tell them to shut up and stop talking about Haley. Now though, it was almost like she needed to know if Nathan or Haley were a couple or not.

"At first, there was something there," Haley tried her best to explain the situation that she didn't really understand herself. "We both kinda flirted with each other, you know, and for a bit, I really thought that something was going to happen with it, but it just didn't." She had thought about it over and over, trying to think about what had gone wrong in their almost relationship, but she still hadn't come up with an answer. "I don't know what happened, but one day it just wasn't there anymore. He just sort of shut down with me, and it was just about tutoring again."

"Wow," Brooke breathed, surprisingly giddy over the story. She silently cursed herself, reminding her that there was no reason what so ever to be giddy about this information. "That's weird. I wonder what happened."

"Who knows," Haley shrugged, letting the last of her sad feelings wash away from her. She would let her feelings out about the Nathan thing, but she wasn't going to do it in front of Brooke. She was going to talk to Peyton about it, or Taylor or even Lucas, but it wasn't going to be Brooke. "Maybe he got his sanity back and he realized who I was."

Peyton always hated that. She absolutely hated it when Haley talked bad about herself. Everytime she said something like that, Peyton made her put a quarter in a jar. Haley pretended that she thought it was stupid, but it really meant a lot to her to know that Peyton cared enough about her, thought so highly of her, that she didn't let her talk about herself like that. Taylor, Lucas and Karen would always tell her that what she said wasn't true, but Peyton was the only one that made that much effort to make her stop getting so down on herself, and Haley was thankful for that.

"You shouldn't say that stuff about yourself," Brooke told her, allowing herself to looking Haley up and down quickly. Haley shifted under her gaze and subconsciously folded her arms over her chest. "You're pretty hot, if I do say so myself. Nathan would be lucky to have you. Anyone would be."

"Thanks," Haley mumbled, not sure what she was supposed to say to that. Sure, she'd been told that she was pretty by the four people that she had mentioned countless times, but she never thought much of it because it was expected of them to say that kind of thing.

"No problem." After a few moments, Brooke found that she couldn't bring herself to look at Haley any longer. Seeing her reaction to such a simple comment raised a few different feelings within Brooke. On one hand, seeing Haley blush like that, just confirmed her theory of Haley being the cutest thing alive, but on the other hand, the fact that Haley got so squirmy over something like that made her feel kind of sad. People told her that she was hot all the time, but no one ever said it to Haley. And Brooke couldn't understand why.

Fine, Haley wasn't popular. Hell, before she started tutoring Nathan and hanging out with Peyton, nobody really knew who she was. Brooke didn't know who she was. She'd never admit it to anyone if they'd ask, but she had always noticed Haley. It wasn't that Haley stuck out like a sore thumb her anything, but there was just something about her that always drew Brooke's attention to her.

At the time she just told herself it was because Haley was always with Hot Lucas, and she'd always try to figure out if they were really just best friends or if there was something more there, but if she was being honest, it wasn't Lucas that would catch her eye, it was always Haley.

Brooke would find herself watching Haley in English class. She'd watch as Haley listened intently to what the teacher was saying. She watched as Haley answered question after question correctly, but not once made herself seem better than everyone else. Brooke noticed that Haley was always hesitating to answer in class, maybe afraid of what people would think of her. Brooke also noticed that Haley would always look around her to see if anyone else had their hands up before she would put her's up. Haley only answered the question if nobody else knew the answer. Brooke respected that. It didn't make her feel stupid.

Brooke would find herself watching Haley in the hallway. She'd watch as she laughed at something that Lucas said. She'd watch as she pounded fists with Fergie or jumped on Skills' back. She'd watch Haley be one of the guys. She'd watch Haley try to blend into the background, to go unseen. Brooke noticed that she wasn't very good at that. Brooke always saw her.

"So," Haley drew out, clapping her hands together to break Brooke out of the daze that she had fallen into. Brooke blinked a few times, meeting Haley's gorgeous brown eyes, finding it hard to look away. As always, Haley didn't have a clue of the effect she was having on Brooke. "About that game."

"The game?" Brooke repeated absently, her eyes still lost in Haley's. She didn't think she had ever seen such beautiful eyes before. Realizing what she was doing, Brooke quickly looked away, sitting up straight and putting on a fake smile. "Right, the game."

"I already vetoed Truth or Dare," Haley recapped, making sure that Brooke didn't suggest it again. There wasn't much that she had to hide, she didn't think, but it was the Dare part of the game that Haley was nervous about. When she played it with the guys, it was stupid, childish things like throwing milk balloons at people from the roof or going into the closet for 2 minutes and pretending that something happened. She didn't really know Brooke that well, but she was almost positive that Brooke's dares wouldn't be that innocent. "We could play Spin the Bottle," she suggested with a laugh.

"What!" Brooke exclaimed, almost choking on her own tongue. She silently thanked God that she hadn't been drinking anything at that moment. Her eyes widened in complete shock at her words, trying to decide if she had heard the other girl right or not.

"I was kidding," Haley quickly assured her, surprised at her strong reaction. She thought she had made it pretty clear that it was a joke, and even if she hadn't she didn't think that Brooke would think she was serious. How could she? "I didn't really mean that…"

"Right, yeah," Brooke said quickly, trying to cover up her reaction. She let out a puff of air, waving her hand like it was nothing. "Of course. I was just surprised at the suggestion, you know? Didn't think little Tutor Girl had it in her to joke about something like that."

"O-kay," Haley answered, raising an eyebrow and looking at her strangely. There was definitely something up with Brooke. She had always thought Brooke was weird, but in an endearing kind of way. As much as she had tried in the past, there was just something about Brooke that drew Haley in. She knew it was the dimples. It had to be.

"What about a card game?" Brooke threw out, wanting to get off the subject of Spin the Bottle as soon as possible. She could feel the redness on her cheeks already, and she didn't want Haley to see that. Brooke Davis never blushed. Who would after everything that she had done? Why was she blushing now then? "You don't happen to have any around here do you?"

"Actually," Haley mumbled, pushing herself off the counter and looking around, trying to remember where she had put that deck of cards. "Karen and I usually play when things slow down near closing. I think they're in the back. Just give me a minute."

"Sure." Brooke waited until the door closed behind Haley before she let out her breath.

_What the hell was that?_ She cursed at herself, still feeling completely embarrassed at her outburst just a moment ago. She thanked God that Haley hadn't called her on it, but she was sure that Haley had noticed how weird she was. After all, it was near impossible to miss it.

Why had she reacted like that? She was Brooke Davis; she was queen of the damn school. She'd sleep with all guys worth sleeping with, including the hot new TA in her History class, yet she freaks out and blushes like an idiot at a single mention of possibly kissing Haley during a game?

Brooke didn't know what had gotten into her. Okay, yes, she'd admit that she had been checking Haley out more than innocently on more than one occasion tonight, and at times she couldn't help but think about how adorable Haley was, but that didn't really mean anything, did it?

She would tell Peyton that she was a hot bitch all the time, that didn't mean anything. She would watch the other cheerleaders in the change room; she'd look at their bodies, that didn't mean anything.

Just because she was checking Haley out didn't mean that she wanted to jump her or anything. And so what if she thought that Haley was adorable? It wasn't like that was too hard to figure out. Everyone thought that Haley was adorable; it was just a fact of life. Haley James was adorable. That wasn't exactly news.

It wasn't like she had feelings for the other girl, like she had crush on Haley or something. She wasn't secretly pining after the young tutor and she didn't have any plans to doodle Haley's name all over her notes in class. She didn't want to hang out with Haley, she didn't want to hug Haley and she most certainly did not want to kiss Haley.

"Found them," Haley announced, pushing the door open and tossing the box towards the cheerleader sitting at the counter. Luckily for Brooke, she hadn't been completely lost in her thoughts yet, and she was able to catch the flying box that was coming her way.

"Awesome," she smiled, happy for the distraction. She couldn't think about this anymore, it was making her head hurt. Not to mention the last thing she wanted to do was get caught thinking about Haley by Haley, what with their mutual tendency to say what they were thinking without realizing it. She'd push it to the back of her head, and figure it out later, if she ever felt the sudden need to have a mental breakdown.

"Alrighty," Haley breathed, pulling a stool from out front to behind the counter and plopping down on it. She grabbed the box and pulled out the cards, shuffling them for whatever game they were going to play. "What game did you have in mind?"

"I'm the one that suggested cards," Brooke protested, already forgetting about her previous thoughts and focusing on having fun. "I can't come up with all the brilliant ideas, you know?"

"That's right," Haley laughed, knocking the bottom of the deck on the counter to get all the cards lined up. "We wouldn't want you to hurt herself."

"You're hilarious, Tutor Girl," Brooke told her sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at Haley, though she wasn't really offended at all by the lighthearted comment. "It's a wonder you're not more popular, what with that sparkling wit."

"I'm a riot," Haley informed her confidently, flashing Brooke a winning smile.

"If you say so," Brooke laughed, rolling her eyes at the expression on Haley's face. Haley's smile turned into a pout as she repeated Brooke's gesture from moments before and stuck her tongue out at her. "Okay, okay, pick a game."

"Let's see," Haley mused, turning her eyes up towards the ceiling, sorting through the different card games in her head. "Which game do I want to kick your ass at?" Brooke chuckled at the commented and waited for her to decide. Haley's smile returned and her eyes lit up as she decided. "Snap!"

"Snap?" Brooke repeated, amused at the sheer excitement Haley was displaying over a card game. If Brooke didn't know any better, she would think that Haley had never played before. Haley nodded. "Are you sure? Because I am the reigning Snap champion."

"Oh really?"

"Really," Brooke confirmed with a confident nod, her poker face already in place.

"Bring it on," Haley taunted her, as she began to separate the deck into two piles, one for each of them. "I'll show you whose champion."

"Care to make it interesting?" Brooke questioned, an evil glint in her eyes at the thought. Just thinking about all the possibilities brought a smile to her face. Haley stopped what she was doing at the words, her eyes glued to the cards as she thought about the question. After thinking about it for a moment, Haley continued to sort out the cards, handing Brooke her pile and placing her's in front of her. She looked up and matched Brooke smile with an equally evil one.

"What did you have in mind?"

**...OUAT...**

See? I told you it sucked. And I know that you all hate me for still holding out on the smootchies, but I'm still trying to figure out how that's going to work. Anyway, I can tell you that they get into a little screaming match in the next chapter hint hint. If you're as big of a fan as you think you are, you should know exactly what that means. Please review and I'll try my best to update as soon as possible.

**PS:**I was just wondering if anyone reads my other story that I currently write; _Fifteen Years In the Making_? Because I wanted to know if anyone is even interested in that story anymore or if I should just leave it where it is because I'm having serious writer's block for that story. Let me know.

Review, review, review!


	4. I'll Be Love Suicide

_Author's Note:_ Sorry it's been so long. This update is pretty lengthy, so I hope it makes up for it. I think you'll enjoy it. I hope. I didn't have time to edit it, so if there are a lot of mistakes, I'm really sorry. I'll read it over tomorrow and fix them. Thanks for the review, keep them coming.

**PS: **Haha, Kristin!

**...OUAT...**

"Nah ah," Haley laughed, shaking her head as she watched what Brooke was doing. "That doesn't count. You said flash him, and that was most definitely not a flash."

"Come on, Tutor Girl," Brooke whined, fingering the hem of Haley's t-shirt she was wearing. She saw the look on Haley's face and could see that she wasn't going to get anywhere if she didn't step it up. "Please don't make me do it!"

"A bet, is a bet, Tigger," Haley smirked, holding up her finger and pointing to the window behind the cheerleader. "You lost and by the terms of the bet that _you_ made, that means that you have to flash the guy in the butcher shop."

"But you cheated!" Brooke protested, stomping her foot on the floor and sending Haley a glare. She couldn't believe that she had lost at Snap! She was the champion, for Christ's sake! She was a cheerleader; she had much better reflexes than some tutor would have.

"How do you cheat at Snap?"

"I don't know," Brooke immediately answered without thinking. She saw the victorious smile spread across Haley's lips and Brooke swore if Haley didn't look so adorable, she would smack that smirk right off. "But you did! There is no way that you beat me."

"Sorry, Princess," she told her in mock sympathy. This was just too much fun. Never in a million years did she think that she would get the chance to torture Brooke Davis like this. And have fun doing. "I won, fair and square. Now do it!"

"Fine!" Brooke breathed out through clenched teeth. She glared at Haley for a moment, unclasping her bra without breaking eye contact, before closing her eyes, spinning around on her heel and lifting up her shirt. She cringed when she heard Haley's laughter fill the Café.

"10 more seconds," she teased, glancing down at her watch. It took all of her strength not to look up and watch Brooke as she did what she did. Haley knew that if she looked up, she would no doubt be able to see Brooke reflection in the window, and that was just about the last thing that she needed to be seeing right now. "1, 2, 3, 4…"

"…9, 10," Brooke quickly finished for her, pulling the shirt back over her breasts and practically running away from the window. Haley chuckled as Brooke literally shivered at the thought of the old guy she had just flashed. "Dude, that was disgusting!"

"It's not like he could actually see you, Brooke," Haley pointed out, shaking her head and handing her the deck of cards. "It's pouring rain outside, I can barely see your car anymore."

"Yeah, well," Brooke mumbled, sitting back down on her stool, content in staying in her bitter mood. "When it's something as important as me and my boobs, you'd be amazed at how well people's eyesight will improve."

"I have no doubt," Haley agreed, knowing that Brooke had that effect on people, including herself. She swallowed and continued to watch Brooke fidget out of the corner of her eye. "Did you want to play another game?"

"Nah," she mumbled, tossing the deck back over to the other brunette across from her. Haley grabbed them and shoved them back into their box, before throwing them into the pile of aprons under the counter. "My pride is already hurt enough."

"Okay," Haley sighed, leaning forward on her elbows and pushing her back out, not aware of the effect that had on Brooke. "Well than we're back at square one and bored out of our minds. What do you want to do then? It took us forever to think of cards."

"You're the brains here, Tutor Girl," Brooke pointed out, staring at Haley's ass for a moment longer before tearing her eyes away. She was really starting to question her sanity now. She was clearly checking out Haley's ass two seconds ago, actually imagining touching it; that was not normal. "You think of something."

"I Spy," Haley immediately suggested, saying the first game that had come to mind, wincing slightly when she realized how lame that sounded. Great, now Brooke was going to think that she was some four year old, that's just what she wanted. God, who was she trying to fool? She had no idea what the hell she wanted anymore.

"I Spy?" Brooke repeated in amusement, the smile she was sending Haley showing exactly how adorable she thought the suggestion was. Haley was driving her crazy; one minute she's sexy as hell in soaking wet clothes that cling to her in all the right places and showing off her perfect ass, and the next, she's the most adorable human being on the face of the planet, she rambling like an idiot and suggesting playing I Spy. It was killing Brooke. "Isn't that the game that parents play with their snot nosed little children when they're driving them crazy in the car?"

"Yeah, probably," Haley laughed nervously, not sure of Brooke's teasing was playful of malicious. Haley studied Brooke's face for a moment and if the innocent smile on Brooke's face was any indicator, she'd have to guess the former. "It was just the first thing that came to mind. I don't really want to play it."

"I mean, if you want to…" Brooke began, but was cut off when a cell phone began to ring. Her face clouded in confusion as she looked around the Café for her purse, which held her phone. "Cell phone's work in this whether?"

"Yeah, they're on a satellite system," Haley told her, watching as she reached across the counter and grabbed her purse. Brooke sat in on her lap and dug through it, looking for her phone. Once she found it, she looked even more confused. "What?"

"My phone's not even on," Brook told her, holding up the phone for Haley to see for herself. "Which is strange enough in itself, really." Haley stood in confusion with her for a moment, before she realized what cell phone was ringing.

"Oh, that's mine," she informed the cheerleader, quickly pushing off the counter and rushing around the counter to grab her bag off the table. It took her a moment to locate the phone in the front of her bag. She saw the look Brooke was giving her. "Karen gave it to me, it's her old one. She wanted me to have it for emergencies, since I didn't have one. I never use it, so I forget I have it."

"You get stranger every second," Brooke commented, trying to comprehend how any teenage girl could survive without a cell phone. Haley rolled her eyes at her, and flipped open the phone, motioning for Brooke to turn the CD down a little bit.

"Hello?" She knew it could only possibly be four people, as only four people had her phone number; Lucas who was away at a basketball game at the moment, Peyton who would have called asking for Brooke before she called asking for Haley, so that left Karen and Taylor, both were likely candidates.

"Baby, are you okay?" her sister's familiar asked through the phone, completely ignoring any form of greeting in the interest of getting right to the reason of the call. Haley smiled, proud of herself for knowing who it would be.

"Yeah," Haley sighed, knowing that's exactly what her sister was going to say over and over again throughout the entire conversation. Taylor had a tendency to ask her that question all the time; she just never believed her when she said she was okay. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because it's almost midnight and you're not home yet," Taylor told her, her voice stern but the concern was very clear for Haley to hear. She felt bad for making Taylor worry, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes at her sister's overprotective nature. Taylor meant well, Haley knew, but sometimes it was just too much.

"I was closing up the Café…"

"And there's like a hurricane outside," Taylor continued, completely ignoring Haley's attempt at an explanation to her absence. Taylor walked over to the living room window, pushing the curtains aside to look outside. She made a face at the rain as it pelted down and watched it for a second before putting them back in their place and moving back over to the couch.

"It's not a hurricane, Tay," Haley laughed, shaking her head and rolled her eyes at Brooke again to let her know that her sister was frustrating her. Brooke smiled at her, amused by the typical sisterly action and continued to listen to their conversation as Haley paced back and forth in the front of the Café. "It's just a rainstorm."

"Hay, have you looked outside?" Taylor questioned rhetorically. She let out a sigh and sat herself down on the couch. She hated worrying about her little sister. She knew Haley was probably the most responsible teenager on the face of the planet, but she couldn't be too careful. "I was just worried about you, Haley-bub."

"I know, Tay," Haley told her, her voice instantly becoming gentler. She felt terrible for worrying her sister. She shook her head, not believing that she hadn't thought to call Taylor at home to tell her that she was okay. "And I'm sorry I didn't call you, I wasn't thinking."

"I was just watching TV and the chick said that it was getting really bad out there and that nobody should be on the road." She couldn't believe her eyes when she had been watching the news, the rain was just pouring down. She couldn't remember ever seeing so much rain in her life, and certainly not in Tree Hill. "And when you didn't come home, and started freaking out, thinking you were in a ditch somewhere."

"No, no, I'm fine, I promise," Haley repeated, hoping that Taylor would get the point. "I'm just in the Café."

"Oh, are you with Karen?" Taylor assumed, knowing that they always closed together and then Karen would drive Haley home since she didn't have a car of her own yet.

"No, she left earlier before closing," Haley informed her. "She wasn't feeling well, so I offered to close up and ended up being stuck here."

"That sucks," Taylor sighed, looking around her empty house, wishing that her baby sister were there with her. She hated thunderstorms and she was bored out of her mind since she couldn't go out anywhere. "Are you alone? Cause I could risk the rain to come hang out with you if you want."

"You're that bored, are you?" Haley laughed. She could totally picture her sister perfectly, lounging on the couch, ready to pull her hair out. While Haley liked the quiet sometimes, Taylor always needed to be doing something or be with someone. If Haley was home right now, all they would be doing was watching TV probably; something that Taylor could obviously do by herself, but it wasn't the same with the other girl with her. She just couldn't stand being by herself.

"I'm going insane," Taylor sighed; smiling to herself, finding it amusing that Haley knew her so well. It shouldn't be surprising though, not at all. "It's too damn quite. Please tell me that you need some company, please. I'm dying over here."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Tay, but I'm not alone," Haley told her, careful not to look over at Brooke as she was talking about her. As soon as Haley mentioned her, Brooke's ears perked up and she turned back around to watch Haley again. "A girl from school came in a couple of hours ago, so we're just hanging out until the morning, I guess."

"Fine," the blonde sighed, not even thinking to ask who the girl was. It was obviously someone that she didn't know, or else Haley would have said her name. "I guess I'll just have to suffer here all by myself."

"I guess so," Haley teased, not really feeling bad for her at all. Taylor wasn't stuff in an enclosed space with a girl that she was starting to have not so friendly feelings for, so she got no sympathy from Haley.

"I'm sensing very little sympathy coming from you, little sis," Taylor pointed out, always able to read her sister like a book. Ever since they were little, Taylor and Haley had been extremely close, like Mary Kate and Ashley close, so they could always tell what the other one was thinking. It came in handy most times, but definitely had it's disadvantages in other times; like when she didn't want her big sister to find out who she had a crush on.

"That's because I don't feel sorry for you, loser," Haley laughed back, smiling at the expression that she knew was on the blonde's face. She glanced over at Brooke and wasn't surprised to find a smile on her face as well. After seeing the adoring smile on Karen's face many a times during conversations with her sister, she had come to terms with the fact that she and Taylor were just plan adorable together. It was a burden that she would just have to carry. "You have the house all to yourself without your bratty kid sister there to annoy you. You know, most big sisters would be delighted at the situation."

"Well, most big sisters don't have you as a little sister, now do they?" Taylor smirked, knowing she was sweet talking the brunette. It was something that she loved to do because she knew how low Haley's self esteem was on a good day. Her, Karen, Lucas and from what Haley had told her, Peyton too, would always try to give her compliments as often as possible in hopes that one day Haley would start to realize that what they were saying was true. "I'll have you know that hanging out with my bratty kid sister is my favorite pass time."

"Maybe that's cause you don't have any friends," Haley shot back in a playful tone. Haley let out a fake gasp after hearing Taylor do the same and broke out into giggles, much to Brooke's painful delight. Brooke didn't think she had ever seen something more adorable in her entire life. It was then, that Brooke made it her life's goal to make Haley James giggle every change she got. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"Hey," Taylor whined in protest, even though she knew Haley was just joking around. "Just because my best friend in the whole world happens to be my annoying kid sister, doesn't mean I don't have other friends!"

"Whatever you say, Tay," Haley sing songed, ignoring the rhyme.

"It doesn't!"

"If it makes you feel any better," Haley began, her voice losing it's teasing tone, but still light. "My best friend in the whole world happens to be my annoying big sister, too." Brooke felt her entire heart melt at Haley's words and the sincerity behind them. She knew that Haley didn't have many friends, at least not as many as she did, but it seemed the other girl had more people in her life that genuinely loved her than Brooke did. And it seemed that she loved a lot more people than Brooke did as well.

"A little bit," Taylor admitted, smiling at Haley's words. It wasn't like she didn't already know how she felt, but it made her feel better to actually hear the words. Deciding that there really wasn't anything else to do, and that Haley wasn't going to provide her with anything to do, she reached forward and grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV again, flipping through the channels to find something good on. "What time is it?"

"Time to get a watch," Haley answered, no trace of humor in her voice. She hated when Taylor asked her that question. Both her and Peyton were constantly asking her what time it was because they never had watches on. It annoyed the hell out of her. "It's midnight, which you pointed out like three minutes ago."

"Shut up." Taylor muted the TV so she could hear Haley better and continued to look for something good to watch. "What's on TV now?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Haley asked, finally getting tired of pacing back and forth and sat down in the chair her beg was in front of. "You always make me go to bed at 11:30."

"Only on school nights!" Taylor defended, practically cringing at Haley's words. They made her sound like a lame parent. Besides, it wasn't like Haley resented the rule or anything; she was usually in bed earlier anyway. "It's Friday. Tell me what to watch."

"I don't know, you know I don't really watch TV," Haley answered. "Hold on." She covered up the bottom of her cell phone and glanced up at Brooke to find her watching her. Ignoring the feeling that washed through her, she spoke. "My sister is being a whiny baby. Do you know anything good on right now?"

"I'm not usually home on Friday nights at this time," Brooke began with a smirk, wiggling her eye brows to tell Haley exactly what she was usually doing elsewhere. "But there's usually a Friends or Will & Grace rerun on now every other night."

"Thanks," Haley quickly told her, ignoring the other comment. She uncovered the phone to tell Taylor what Brooke said. "Tay, there's probably a rerun of Friends or…"

"Yeah, yeah," Taylor mumbled distractedly, already watching the television. "I found it already. I love this episode."

"You love all the episodes," Haley commented, trying to listen to what was going on so she could know what episode it was.

"Shut up," she mumbled again, her finger moving up to the End button on the phone. "I'm gonna go now, Haley-bub. Stay safe and I'll see you in the morning."

"Tay…"

"I love you, baby." Without giving Haley a chance to response or say whatever she was going to say before she interrupted her, she hung up the phone and tossed it over to the chair across the room.

"Love you, too," Haley mumbled, looking at the phone in confusion for a second before shaking her head and closing it. She put it back in her bag and turned to face Brooke, who turned the CD player back up now that she was off of the phone, just in time for the Spice Girls. "She's so weird."

"You two are so adorable," Brooke commented, not knowing what else to say. She was an only child, and from what she had heard from the girls on the squad that had brothers or sisters, she didn't want one. After hearing Haley and Taylor talk to each other though, she couldn't help but wish she had a big sister as well; at least one that was like Taylor. "Kinda makes me wish I had a sister."

"You really love that word, don't you?" Haley asked her, brushing the comment off, but not being able to stop the blush from creepy up onto her cheeks. "People tell us that all the time. I don't know what's so adorable about us, but whatever."

"You guys are adorable, trust me," Brooke nodded, making sure that Haley knew there was no room for argument. Haley was about to protest, but decided that there was no point in arguing with Brooke Davis. She settled on sending her a warm smile instead. Brooke could feel her knees go weak at the sight and was thankful that she was sitting down. "What did she call for, anyway?"

"Just wanted to see if I was okay," Haley told her, surprised that she hadn't figured that one out herself, considering she had clearly been listening to her entire conversation. "She was worried that I wasn't home yet. Plus the weather…"

"She's pretty protective, huh?" Brooke asked, just wanting to make conversation. She already knew that Taylor was protective, she could tell by the conversation they had just had. Not to mention that she couldn't imagine how anyway that met Haley wouldn't get protective of her. She was so very sweet, but also naive in a way, that just made her so damn endearing. She had only started talking to her like two hours ago, and already she felt the need to just lock her away from all the heartbreak out in the real world.

"Overly protective most of the time," Haley laughed, thinking about the way Taylor could get at times. "Then again, so are Karen and Lucas, too. Oh, and some of the Rivercourt guys, Skills mostly. He's worse than Lucas sometimes. I think Peyton's the only one of my friends that lets me go somewhere without asking me a million questions first and offering to go with me."

"I'm sure they mean well," Brooke offered carefully, not sure how Haley was going to react. If Brooke didn't know any better, she would think that Haley was a little bitter about all of that attention. "They're just looking out for you."

"Yes, but still," Haley began, her voice a mixture of confusion and defensiveness. First, she didn't understand why Brooke was defending them or trying to understand them. Secondly, she didn't like that Brooke was doing that, considering Brooke didn't really have any idea what she was talking about. "They could let me breathe sometimes. Taylor didn't even wait two hours before she called."

"She was just worried, Tutor Girl," Brooke repeated, not checking the defensive tone in Haley's voice. "And I know you would be too. If the situations were reversed, and it was you at home by herself in the thunderstorm while Taylor was MIA, I _know_ you'd be just as worried about her."

"You don't know that," Haley told her, standing up from her chair slowing, knowing that she was going to start to pace in a moment. She always paced when she was angry or annoyed about something. Of course what Brooke said was true, she'd be overwhelmed with worry, but how dare Brooke say that she knew that. "You don't know me."

"Tutor Girl, I was just saying…" Brooke tried, completely surprised by the edge in Haley's voice and the stance that she had taken. She didn't think that Haley would get angry over her statement and she certainly didn't mean for her too. In fact, she had never really seen Haley get angry over anything.

"You were saying that you know me," Haley stated, her voice getting edgier. Brooke had really hit a sore spot, and she didn't even know it. "And you don't know me. You've never taken the time to know me. So don't you dare assume that you know what I would or wouldn't do, okay?"

"What's your problem, Tutor Girl?" Brooke asked, the utter confusion she was feeling clearly evident in her voice.

"My name, is Haley," she stated, finally saying what she's been wanting to tell the cheerleader since she had first spoken to her. It wasn't that she hated the name, it wasn't really anything offensive or anything, but it just kind of bothered her that Brooke didn't call her by her name, not once. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that Brooke didn't know her name and just called her Tutor Girl as a way around that little problem.

"I know that," Brooke snapped back, not liking what Haley was trying to insinuate. Of course she knew what her name was, they did share some mutual friends, and have been in each other's presence before. She wasn't that stuck up or rude, and the fact that it seemed Haley thought that pissed her off. "Who do you think I am?"

"I think you're someone that likes to tear people down," Haley answered without a moment's hesitation. She could tell that Brooke was getting ready to defend herself when she jumped off her stool to stand as well so they'd be at eye level for this little fight that was brewing. "And the worst part is, I don't even think you know you do it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" As weird as it may seem to someone else, watching Haley getting all worked up like she was, it was actually making Brooke want Haley more. As sweet as she was when she was relaxed, or as adorable as she was when she was nervous, she was sexy as hell when she was pissed off. "When have I ever done anything mean to you?"

"Not mentioning the two things we already talked about earlier," Haley began, getting ready to let Brooke have it. She had been keeping inside for so long, and it felt so amazingly good to finally get it all out. When Brooke had said it was going to be the two of them alone together all night, Haley wasn't sure what she was going to do. She had always had this sort of resentment towards the cheerleader. She knew Brooke was a good person, Peyton wouldn't be best friends with her if she wasn't, but she hated that Brooke wouldn't show that side of herself to her, that she insisted on acting like she didn't exist or on the odd days that she acknowledged her presence, she was beneath her. "I can name plenty of times."

"Well then, Miss Superior," Brooke bit back. "Why don't you start with naming one?"

"Dan's 'Kiss My Ass' party," Haley immediately answered, raising her eyebrow, daring Brooke to deny that she wasn't a completely bitch to her that night. Brooke opened her mouth to reply, but quickly closed it when she realized that Haley did have a point. "You completely humiliated me in front of all those cheerleaders and jocks. You made me feel so unwanted there, like I stuck out even more."

"I was drunk," Brooke offered weakly, knowing that wasn't an excuse. Despite what she had told Peyton the next morning, things hadn't actually been as fuzzy as she claimed. She remembered pretty much everything from that night, every hurtful thing she had done to someone, but she knew Haley was on the top of that list. "But you know what, I set you and Nathan up the next day to make up for it."

"I didn't care about that, Brooke," Haley told her, rolling her eyes at the fact that Brooke just didn't get it. "There is no me and Nathan, I wasn't mad or upset about that! When Lucas came into the Café and round me crying my eyes out on the floor, it wasn't because I was upset at what Nathan had supposedly done! I knew he didn't do that, I'm not stupid, you know? I give him a little bit more credit then that!"

"God, I'm sorry, okay?" Brooke shouted back, trying to push the heartbreaking image of Haley crying out of her mind. She couldn't think about that, that just killed her, especially knowing that she was the one that caused it. "Like I said the next morning; I was drunk, and pissed and I found your letter. If I could take it back, I would."

"That's bullshit, and you know it." Haley could feel her hands balling up into a fist as she thought back to that night, remembering how hurt she had felt. After Nathan had come to try to apologize, she stayed in the Café with the lights off. She ended up falling asleep in the back and remembered waking up to find Taylor shaking her and Karen standing behind her concerned. Boy had Taylor screamed at her for scaring the crap out of her when Haley hadn't come home that night. "You didn't care then, and I'm sure you'd just as easily do it all over again tomorrow."

"I would not," Brooke insisted, wanting to believe that more than anything. She liked Haley; maybe a little bit too much, that much was obvious, but that probably wouldn't matter much when they got to school on Monday. As much as she hated to admit it to Haley, and to herself, she was scared that she'd do exactly like she did the other times they had bonded; she'd ditch her the next day and pretend she didn't exist.

"Yes, you would," Haley insisted, completely believing her words. She wasn't stupid; she knew what was going on here. She had fallen for it enough times to know that she shouldn't get her hopes up. She knew that her and Brooke weren't going to be best friends the next day. "I've seen Breakfast Club, Brooke, I know what happens on Monday."

"Even if I do ignore you on Monday," Brooke began, making sure to keep the sadness out of her voice so Haley wouldn't be able to pick up on how much that thought hurt Brooke. "That doesn't mean I'm going to be cruel to you."

"Whatever," Haley shot back; hating the fact that she knew Brooke was right. She couldn't really think of any examples, other than the one at the party, where Brooke have gone out of her way to say something mean or rude to her. Brooke was right, she pretty much just ignored her presence, but on most occasions, that hurt more than anything she could have said. "The point is, you're going to ignore me, and pretend that this entire night didn't happen, just like you did two months ago and just like you did in grade two."

"You don't know that," Brooke argued, though it was clearly half-heartedly. She knew Haley was right and she knew that Haley knew that as well, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. Haley let out a bitter laugh and shook her head.

"I do know that, Brooke," Haley answered, almost hissing at her. How could Brooke think she was so stupid? "See, unlike you, I can honestly say that I know what you are going to do. I'm in a position to say that I know you, because I do. At least I know you well enough to know that you think I'm beneath you and that being seen in public with me would completely humiliate you."

"That's not what I mean…" Brooke tried, her voice immediately softening when she heard the wavering in Haley's voice. She didn't know why it had taken her so long to notice that Haley anger was just a front for her sadness. Of course Haley would be upset at her for insinuating that she knew her when Brooke had gone out of her way twice to have nothing to do with her. Ignoring the CD player as the Spice Girls slowly came to an end, Brooke stepped forward in an attempt to end this argument. "I'm sorry that I…"

"Save it," Haley quickly stepped away, moving away from Brooke so that they were now in each other's previous spots, Haley with her back to the counter, feeling trapped in. "I'm not buying your BS this time, Brookie. I don't know what I was smoking the last time I was naïve enough to believe that you'd actually want to be friends with me, but I have a clear head right now, and you're not gonna fool me. Not this time. I'm not going to let myself get hurt like that again."

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful  
Stop me and steal my breath  
Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky  
Never revealing their depth  
Tell me that we belong together  
Dress it up with the trappings of love  
I'll be captivated  
I'll hang from your lips  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

"Haley, I really didn't…" the taller brunette attempted to apologize again, moving closer to Haley again. This time, however, Haley had nowhere to go since the counter was behind her, so instead she stood tall, holding her ground.

"I've excepted that you're a bitch Brooke," Haley snapped, sending Brooke a glare that could kill a normal person on sight. For Brooke, however, it had a completely different effect. Well the words stung a little bit, Brooke knew them to be true, and heard them enough to be almost unaffected by them. What got Brooke was the look in Haley's eyes. It wasn't just the sadness in them, but the pure anger and rage that she could see that was turning her on.

She's a cheerleader and the most popular girl at Tree Hill High. Yes, she had witnessed fights before, she had been in screaming matches that were legendary, but not once could she ever remember seeing so much emotion and rage swimming in the other person's eyes. She suspected it was because anything that she had argued at school about with Bevin or Theresa wasn't something that either of them really cared about; it wasn't something that hurt them, something that truly upset them. Normally, it was just about makeup or boys.

With Haley, it was like everything she felt was on display for Brooke to see. All the pain and all the emotion she was feeling at that moment was clear for Brooke to see, and although that obviously broke her heart, she felt it warm at the same time, feeling somewhat closer to Haley, being able to see and to know everything that she was feeling at that moment, though anyone else would be able to see it as well.

She loved that Haley was so easy to read. She loved the way that Haley wore her heart on her sleeve, even though it was obviously going to get broken there. Anyone else would think that Haley was naïve to do that, but Brooke didn't think so. With all the pain that Haley had gone through with her parents and the kids at school, and her, there was no way that Haley could be naïve about stuff like that. Haley James was too smart for that.

"I excepted that two months ago when you turned your back on me in the courtyard," Haley continued, having absolutely no idea what was swirling around in Brooke's head. She was silently cursing herself for letting everything out like she was, but she needed to. Otherwise, it was likely to come out at an even worse time, when there were more people around to witness her break down. "And you know what, for a second there, earlier tonight, you had me fooled. I actually thought; 'Hey, she's not so bad. Maybe I'm wrong about her, maybe she didn't mean to hurt me before. Maybe she does like me.' What an idiot I was, huh?"

"I do like you Haley," Brooke tried to tell her. _More than I should, Tutor Girl._ She didn't want Haley to know that she liked her, at least not how much she liked her, but she couldn't stand to hear Haley talking down about herself like that. "I'm sorry that I said I know you, I shouldn't have said that."

_I'll be your crying shoulder  
I'll be love suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

"No, you shouldn't have," Haley quickly agreed, not caring that Brooke was admitting that she was wrong. She was too angry and had too many things stored up inside of her to stop now, even if Brooke was yelling back. "You don't know because you've never wanted to know me. You have chances and you spit on them, so don't you dare say that you ever know me again."

"God, Haley, overreact, much?" Brooke finally sighed. She was all for letting your inner bitch out, and she thought it was a good thing that Haley was finally saying what she had apparently been dying to say all her life, but she wasn't about to stand there and get ripped apart for some innocent comment that was just meant to make her feel better. "I didn't mean anything by it. It was supposed to mean that you are a good person and that is so obvious that you love your sister. I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that was a crime!"

"Oh, so now you're telling me how to feel?" Brooke rolled her eyes and let out a groan, trying to figure out how the hell she was going to get Haley to calm the hell down. Sure, she was hot when she was yelling, but she was really starting to prefer the cute and adorable shy Haley. She was much nicer.

"No, I wasn't telling you…"

"I'm not one of your brainless minions," Haley snapped, not missing a single beat. She was just way too good at this for Brooke's liking. Not even she, Queen Bitch was Tree Hill could get a word in edgewise. "Though I bet you know me as well as you know them. You can't boss me around, I'm not gonna follow you like you're the Queen of the God Damn World!"

"That would be cool," Brooke commented. Haley seemed to ignore whatever the hell she said, so she figured it didn't matter what she said at this point in time. Just as she suspected, Haley didn't give her words a second thought. If she even gave them a first one.

_Rain falls angry on the tin roof  
As we lie awake in my bed  
You're my survival  
You're my living proof  
My love is alive and not dead  
_

"That's your problem, Brooke," Haley ranted, barely remembering to take a breath in between her comments. "You think the world revolves around you. You're so damn worried about your precious imagine that you don't care about how that makes everyone else feel. That's exactly why you could never be friends with a person like me."

"God, will you just shut up for like two seconds!" Brooke finally screamed, not being able to take it anymore. "You talk about me not knowing, and yet you're going to stand there and read off all of my problems like you're my therapist or something? You are such a hypocrite."

"You shouldn't use words when you don't know their meanings, Brookie."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Brooke shot back, throwing her hands in the air as if Haley had just stated the most obvious thing in the world. "I forgot that just because I'm pretty and popular and caption of the cheerleading squad, that means that I'm an idiot. Talk about stereotypes there, _Tutor Girl_."

"I told you to stop calling me that," Haley hissed, narrowing her eyes at Brooke, even more pissed off that Brooke would dare to scream back at her. She knew that she was overreacting and she knew that she was doing exactly what she was mad at Brooke for doing, but she normally didn't think clearly when she was screaming at people. Brooke raised her eyebrow, smirking at Haley's dislike for the name, or at least the way she had used it.

"What's wrong with Tutor Girl?" Brooke asked, taking a step forward. She knew that Haley didn't really hate it; it was pretty much the principle of the matter at this point. "I thought that I didn't know you, so I just figured that it wouldn't be right for me to use your name."

"It's about respect, Brooke," Haley explained, after a moment of trying to figure out a reply to that. Brooke did have a point. Damn, she hated when people threw her words back in her face like that. It didn't happen very often, but she hated it when it did. "It's like just because I'm not some pretty cheerleader with blonde hair, you don't have to bother to know my name."

"There are so many things wrong with that sentence," Brooke told her, trying to stop the smile from breaking out on her face. Like she thought before, Haley was incredibly hot when she was angry, but at the same time, it amazed Brooke that she could still be adorable. Just the fact that Haley was getting the wrong impression about everything was pretty funny. She knew she shouldn't be laughing or thinking she was bring cute, since the things Haley was talking about were very serious in her general and extremely important to her, but Brooke couldn't help it. She was smitten, it seemed.

_Tell me that we belong together  
Dress it up with the trappings of love  
I'll be captivated  
I'll hang from your lips  
Instead of the gallows  
Of heartache that hang from above_

"Like what?"

"For starters, you're pretty, and I can't imagine how you couldn't see that," she started, hoping the comment would get her on Haley's good side. Brooke smirked at the surprised look on her face. She took a strain of her hair in her hand and held it up for Haley to see. "Second, I'm a brunette, too, dumbass."

"Don't call me a dumbass," Haley interrupted, but it was her turn to be ignored.

"And third," Brooke said, punctuating the word with a glare at Haley's attempt to interrupt her. "It's not about that at all. I give nicknames, that's my thing. I hardly ever call Peyton by her name and she's my best friend. She's P. Sawyer, Nathan's Boy Toy or Superstar, Tim is Dim, Lucas is Broody and you're Tutor Girl. If anything, you should feel lucky that I've deemed you special enough to have a nickname."

"I never asked for a nickname!"

"You call me Tigger," Brooke pointed out, still trying to wrap her head around what the big deal was. Nobody had ever complained about her use of nicknames before, so what the hell was Haley's problem? "What the hell is that about, anyway?"

"You bounce!" Haley shouted back. "It's not rocket science. And the only reason I started calling you that if because you wouldn't stop calling my Tutor Girl!"

"But that's my favorite nickname." Brooke could not believe that they were actually arguing over this. Considering how this whole screaming match started; about something important and serious that truly hurt Haley's feelings. They were now arguing over the lameness of each other's nicknames. They were very mature girls, if Brooke said so herself.

"And of course, it's all about what Brookie wants, isn't it?" And now they were back to Brooke's a selfish bitch. At least Brooke could understand why they would fight over that. Brooke closed her eyes in hopes of shutting Haley's crazy ranting out. She was really starting to hurt her head.

_I'll be your crying shoulder  
I'll be love suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

"Haley…" Brooke tried to get her to stop.

"That's your big problem," Haley accused, pointing her index finger at her to get her point across. Brooke was having trouble keeping up with what her big problem was. There were so many she's named already. "You think that just because a few brainless cheerleaders and AV geeks drool all over you that we should all bow down to your every command."

"Haley…" Brooke tried again a little bit louder this time. She rolled her eyes at how ridiculous Haley was starting to sound.

"Well, new flash, Miss Davis," Haley shouted, moving a step closer to where Brooke was standing. "The world? Doesn't revolve around you! There are other people in the world that you need to share oxygen with. I'm not sure if you're aware of that fact, but I just wanted to let you know before you sucked it all up and took up the entire with your ego!

"Haley," Brooke tried once again to get her to calm down because she stopped making sense a while ago.

"What about me?" Haley asked, pointing at herself and staring at Brooke with wide eyes as if she was waiting for an actual answer. "Does it matter what I want? What if I actually hated the name Tutor Girl with a fiery passion and everytime you called me that it made me want to kill myself?" Brooke's eyes widened in alarm, terrified that was true. That was absolutely the last thing she wanted. Consider the nickname finished. "It doesn't make me want to kill myself! I'm not that pathetic."

"Haley…"

"I'm just saying, what if it did? Would it matter to anyone if I asked them to stop? Would they actually listen to me in the spirit of not making me commit suicide, or would Queen Brooke have to make an official announcement declaring the name be stricken from her Palace? If that's the case, you can take your crown and shove it up you ass…"

"HALEY!" Brooke screamed, finally reaching the end of her rope. Haley literally jumped at her scream and stare at her with wide eyes, as if just realizing that she had been trying to get her attention for the last two minutes.

"What?" Haley panted, out of breath from her no stop rant. She stared at Brooke, her expression blank, but her eyes still holding all the passion, anger and rage she was feeling. Brooke held her gaze, not sure what she wanted to do now that she actually had Haley's attention.

_I've dropped out  
Burned up  
Fought my way back from the dead  
Tuned in  
Turned on  
Remembered the things you said_

"I…I just… I was trying to…I…" she stammered, desperate to find the words that she wanted to say. She took a step forward, opening her mouth to say something, before shutting it again, the lump in the back of her throat preventing her from saying anything. She moved her arms slightly in front of her, not knowing what to do with them

She watched the rise and fall of Haley's chest as she tried to catch her breath, hopefully not for her next round of screaming. Her still slightly wet hair and all over the place, some in her face, some behind her ears and some resting on her shoulders. Her lips were parted as she inhaled and exhaled. Haley was looking at her expectantly, her eyes narrowed. Still, Brooke couldn't look away. Brooke had never seen Haley look hotter. She was mesmerized.

Letting out a growl of frustration at her inability to find the right words, Brooke finally just lunged forward, taking Haley's face in between her hands and pressing her lips hard against her's. Before Haley react, whether it was going to be to push her away or pull her closer, Brooke pressed her body harder against her's, forcing her to stumble backwards until her back was flat against the counter.

Moving her hands off of Haley's face, she placed them on the counter on either side of Haley's waist, moving even closer for maximum contact. She had her eyes closed tight and her mind practically shut off. She had no idea what had come over her, but she just needed to feel Haley's body against her's, and she didn't know why.

She wasn't going to analyze it and she wasn't going to think about all the millions of repercussion her action was going to have. All she was wanted to do was live in the moment and enjoy it in all its glory, knowing it was probably going to be the only time she was ever going to be this close to Haley James.

_I'll be your crying shoulder  
I'll be love suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

Haley's mind was running a hundred miles a minute, along with Brooke's. She couldn't believe what was happening. Was Brooke Davis, the most popular girl at Tree Hill High, the girl same Brooke Davis she had just spent the last five minutes bitching out, kissing her? It seemed so.

As if just realizing what the hell was going on, Haley's mind snap right into gear and sent the message to her lips to get into gear and do something. This was probably going to be the only time she was ever going to get to kiss Brooke Davis; there was no way in hell she was going to let it pass without full tasting every inch of Brooke she could get.

Having a mind of their own, Haley's slightly shaking hands moved away from her sides and attached themselves to the first place on Brooke's body they could find. Her right hand found its way into Brooke's newly dried hair and her left hand roamed up and down her back.

The moment she felt Haley starting to kiss her back, Brooke felt her knees go weak and her heart flutter at the same time. Despite being who she was and the amount of guys that would give anything to be with her, she had been beginning to worry that kissing Haley was a huge mistake that she was going to regret for the rest of her life. But when she Haley's hands on her and her lips starting to move with her's, she was so filled with relief and pleasant, she almost lost her balance.

Deciding she had nothing to lose at this point, Brooke moved her right hand off the counter and onto the back on Haley's thigh. She wrapped her other arm around Haley's waist, pulling back from her lips slightly.

"Up," she instructed in a low husky voice. Without giving it a second of thought, Haley jumped up, allowing Brooke to lift her up and sit her on the counter. The moment she was in place, Brooke pushed Haley's legs apart, moving to stand in between them, to gain contact again.

"You taste so good," Haley moaned before Brooke brought their lips back together again in an even more heated kiss.

_I'll be your crying shoulder  
I'll be love suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older_

"You feel so good," Brooke countered in between kisses. Trying to think about it too much, she let her hands travel underneath Haley's shirt, her fingers running along the smooth skin of Haley's back. She felt Haley arch against her at the touch and she couldn't help but smile against the other girls lips.

Haley tried her best not to think about what she was doing too much, having never ever kissed anybody before. She had seen it in movies and on TV tones of times, but Lucas had told her it was nothing like that. They had practiced on their arms when they were 11, but she had never been good at it.

She decided to just follow Brooke's lead, biting the cheerleader's lip when she bit her's, battling her tongue for dominance. She was an over thinker by nature, Lucas, Taylor and Peyton always told her that. She couldn't help it. She was used to having an equation to solve a problem or a lesson plan to learn something. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing that was going to tell her how to do this.

Finally, she just decided to let herself go, to do what felt natural to her. Little did she know the effect her actions were having on Brooke, who was having trouble standing up straight.

Haley brought her arms up and wrapped them around Brooke's neck, relaxing against the other girl and going with the flow, letting her tongue do its magic. She wanted to enjoy this moment. It was her first kiss, after all.

_I'll be the greatest fan of you life_

**...OUAT...**

I know it was pretty anti-climatic and I hated the whole fight, but that's all I could come up with. So, please review. Thanks.


	5. Good Morning, Sunshine

_Author's Note_: Gasp! How random is this update? Are you excited? I hope you are. This ends the infamous night in the Cafe, I hope you aren't too sad. The drama is about to begin! I hope you're ready for it. Enjoy and please tell me what you think.

**...OUAT...**

"Cupboard," Haley guessed for the third time after looking around the Café for the right answer. This was harder than she thought it would be. It looks like Brooke Davis was a lot more talented than she gave her credit for. Though, this didn't exactly take much talent.

"Nope," Brooke laughed, slapping on a smile of victory when she could see Haley starting to give up. "Wrong again. You're not as smart as people say you are."

"I am too smart," Haley protested. She was determined now to win this stupid little game if it was the last thing she did. Lucas always said she got competitive, but she never believed him. With a stern and determined look on her face, Haley looked around the Café for something that started with a C. "Oh my God! Café!"

"Nope." Haley immediately pouted, feeling like an idiot. Letting out a defeated breath, she rolled her eyes and turned her head towards Brooke, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, I give up," Haley admitted, each word leaving a sour taste in her mouth. Haley James never gave up, especially not to someone the likes of Brooke Davis. Maybe there was a first time for everything. "What did you spy with your little eye that starts with a C?"

"A cutie!" Brooke cheered, flashing Haley the goofiest grin she could possibly muster. She knew it was cheating because there was no way that Haley would have ever guessed that, but she most certainly was not above cheating. Haley raised an eyebrow in confusion; staring at Brooke was a blank face.

"What?" Brooke shook her head at how modest the other girl was and smiled at her.

"You, silly," she explained, giving her a gentle poke in the nose for being so dense to her own cuteness. "A cutie. I spy you."

"Aw, so I'm a cutie, eh?" It was too hard to keep the wide grin off of her face at Brooke's words. She still didn't know why it was such a big deal when Brooke called her cute considering she heard it from Karen and Taylor daily. Then again, she didn't exactly have a crush on them, did she?

"And you know it," Brooke teased back. She didn't know what had gotten into her, what was with the constant flirting. Honestly, Brooke didn't know what the hell she was thinking; her head was just going a mile a minute. She didn't have time to think about what she was saying or what it would mean to Haley; she just said what she was feeling. It felt kind of liberating, she had to admit.

The two of them were lying in the middle of the Café, the tables pushed aside. Brooke was lying flat on her back with her arms wrapped around Haley, who was snuggled up into her side, with her arm draped across Brooke's stomach.

If either of them were asked to explain or to retell the events that occurred after that kiss, they couldn't tell you. Everything had been a blur after Brooke had lifted Haley on top of the counter. It was if the sheer passion and pleasure of it all had completely wiped both of their memories clean of it. At least for the time being, as they just laid there in the aftermath.

Both of them were having a hard time explaining what had happened or even working out how they felt about what had happened between them. It was obvious that what they did was going to have huge repercussions, but it didn't seem to matter to either of them at the moment. They were too busy enjoying the present moment to worry about what might happen later on.

Haley kept replaying everything that she could remember over and over again in her head, wanting to feel everything she had felt in those moments. She still couldn't believe how unbelievable it had felt to have Brooke up against her like that, to have her lips and tongue move with her's so well.

As amazing as it had been, she was starting to worry that it probably wasn't such a good idea. Not only did she have her doubts about where Brooke was after the whole thing, but there was also the fact that now she was screwed. Before, she could admire Brooke from afar, imagine what it would be like to kiss her, but now that she actually had kissed her, and Haley wasn't sure if she could ever not kiss her again. It just felt so right. Not to mention the fact that she didn't think there could ever be anyone that could make her feel as amazing as Brooke had made her feel.

Brooke's mind was running a mile a minute as well. She still couldn't believe that she had done that. Sure, she had thought about it the whole night, but she really couldn't believe that she had had it in her to actually do it. It was one thing to think about it, a completely different thing to actually kiss Haley.

She could remember feeling scared the moment her lips made contact with Haley. On one hand, even just that first second of their kiss blew Brooke's mind, even before Haley even started kissing her back. Those ten seconds it took for Haley to get with the program and start kissing her back were the longest ten seconds of her life. If Haley hadn't kissed her back, instead pushed her away in disgust, she honestly didn't know what the hell she would have done.

Not wanting to think about that, Brooke pushed those what ifs out of her head and focused on what did happen, what was going on now. She may not be able to remember exactly what had happened, but she knew that it was the single best kiss of her entire life. Those five or so minutes were enough to ensure that Brooke died happy.

"What are you thinking about?" Haley asked tentatively, breaking Brooke from both her happy and not so happy thoughts. Haley looked up at her, not sure what her answer would be and if she would like it or not. She knew she was probably just setting herself up for huge heartache, but she needed to know where they stood before she started to stress over who was supposed to pay for dates.

"I don't know," Brooke lied, figuring that it probably wasn't a very good idea to let Haley in on what she was thinking. She didn't want to scare the poor girl to death. Besides, she was pretty sure that Haley was having the same doubts, if not worse ones than her's. "Nothing, really. Just trying to remember what exactly happened before."

"You too, huh?" Haley had never been so relieved in her entire life. She thought that she was some kind of spaz or something, not remembering everything that had just gone down no more than fifteen minutes ago. She felt so much better knowing that she wasn't alone in her cluelessness.

"Yeah," Brooke sighed, though Haley couldn't tell if it was one of disappointment or not. She honestly didn't even know what she wanted Brooke to be either. "It's like, one minute we're arguing, then we're making out and then it's like everything after that is just blank, like I went into autopilot. I lifted you up on the counter and then we're cuddling on the floor."

"I know, I don't know what happened," Haley agreed, though she wasn't as worried about it as she had been before now that she knew that Brooke was having the same problem as she was. She couldn't help the silly grin that she had plastered on her face as she snuggled into Brooke's side even more, laying her head on her chest, just soaking in the moment.

"Me neither," Brooke mused, absently bringing her hand up and gently running her hands through Haley's now dry hair. "And when you were screaming at me, I don't know what come over me, either. It was like I just couldn't control myself or something, you just looked so freaking hot and all of a sudden, I just had to have you against. It was crazy."

"I guess you just couldn't resist my wily Haley charms," Haley suggested lightly, letting out a giggle when she remembered that she had been anything but charming when Brooke had kissed her. But apparently she looked hot when she was screaming and pissed off, so she'd have to remember that. She tilted her head up to see the look on Brooke's face. She giggled again. "I know what you mean, though. There was something, I don't know, it was almost…"

"Electric," Brooke finished for her, drifting off as she thought about how amazing it had felt to kiss Haley. "It's so weird, I don't remember what happened, but I can still feel exactly how it felt. Whatever it was that we felt, whatever went through us, I can still feel it, you know?"

"Oh yeah," Haley readily agreed, closing her eyes as she felt that same pleasure wrap itself around her and almost consume her, bringing her back to that moment when they first kissed. "I thought it was just me."

"Not at all," Brooke assured her with a shake of her head. "I have no idea what it was, but it was really powerful, and it felt…"

"Amazing," Haley supplied without thinking about it. The moment the word was out of her lips she regretted it, afraid that wasn't the word Brooke was looking for. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment before finally working up the courage, and she glanced up at Brooke imploringly. "I mean, it, it was amazing, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, baby," Brooke told her softly, pausing her hand in mid stroke and gently bringing Haley's head up so she could place a soft kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes tight as she kissed her, trying her best to ignore what she had just called Haley. She couldn't be doing that, even if it did feel like the most natural thing in the world. "It was."

That was all the answer Haley needed as she breathed a huge sigh if relief, glad that Brooke once again felt the same way as her, that it wasn't just her inexperience that made it feel so special. She had convinced herself when they were making out that Brooke was only doing it to shut her up, it hadn't meant anything to the other girl, she didn't feel the way Haley felt.

Even after all that convincing she had done, though, she was still beyond relieved when Brooke said she felt the same way. She couldn't even begin to describe how utterly amazing she had felt just lying there in Brooke's arms, completely safe from not only the huge storm outside, but everything that scared Haley, all her fears and doubts about herself. None of that seemed to exist when she was in Brooke's arms. It kinda felt like home almost, as cheesy as it sounded, it just felt right somehow.

The closest she had ever felt to that feeling was when Taylor would hold her when she cried, when her big sister would make everything okay. She had always thought that there was nothing that her big sister couldn't possibly fix, and Haley got the feeling that one day soon she could see herself feeling that same way about Brooke. But even the safety she felt in Taylor's arms couldn't compare to how safe and just plain wonderful she felt being in Brooke's arms.

That kiss and just lying there with Brooke, just simply being there with her, knowing that she felt the same way were the best feelings she had ever experienced in her life. And she couldn't even begin to image never doing either of those things again. It was like they, she thought with a smirk; once you go Brooke, you never go back.

"So what happens now?" Haley wanted more than anything to take those words back because no matter what Brooke had felt she knew that whatever Brooke was about to say wasn't going to be something that she wanted to hear. Anything that she did want to hear she would never get from Brooke's mouth. She honestly didn't even know what she wanted to hear. Did she really want to start a relationship with Brooke Davis? She couldn't even begin to name all the number of problems that would cause in her already lame life. But the truth of it was, yeah, she did want a relationship with Brooke Davis and she was cursing herself for setting herself up for that disappointment. At least if she hadn't have asked, she could still pretend.

Brooke felt the words cut through her like a knife. Despite what she was going to say, she knew exactly what was going to happen. As much as she wished that it could be different, she knew how it had to be. She would give anything to be able to do all of this again, to be with Haley the way she deserved to be with, but that was just something she couldn't give the other girl. They just wouldn't work out.

"I don't know, Tutor Girl," Brooke whispered, not noticing the wince from Haley at the name she had gone back to after calling her baby. It suddenly felt so much colder to Haley than it ever had before. That was really all the answer Haley needed to know where they were going to be tomorrow. Right back to the way they were. "I don't know."

But that was a lie, they both knew. And it sucked.

**...OUAT…**

"What the hell…" Brooke mumbled as she began to come to. The first thing that she felt was the agonizing pain that was shooting up her back and how much her neck was killing her. Letting out a small groan, she attempted to sit up and realized that she was on the floor. The moment she realized she was on the floor, everything came rushing back to her.

Keeping her eyes shut for a moment longer, Brooke finally opened them and looked around. Her eyes immediately fell on Haley's sleeping face as she snored into her chest, one arm draped over her stomach still and the other one in her mouth as Brooke noticed she was sucking her thumb.

Brooke's heart broke into a million pieces.

Carefully reaching over, she brushed a few strains off of Haley's forehead and pressed her lips against the skin there for a moment, tightly closing her eyes to stop the tears from falling. This was probably one of the hardest things she's ever had to do. She let herself relish the moment for a couple seconds longer before forcing herself to pull back.

Gulping passed the lump in her throat; Brooke carefully untangled herself from Haley's arms and stood up, looming over her. She couldn't help but notice that Haley had never looked as beautiful as she did laying there in the sunlight. She took everything in her to stop herself from dropping back down to the floor and snuggling in with Haley again. She couldn't do that, not to Haley and not to herself.

Turning away before she lost her nerve, Brooke quickly shuffled over to the table and grabbed her purse, pulling out her car keys as soon as she got there. With a quick glance around the Café to make sure that she had everything of her's, she took a couple steps towards the door before stopping.

After a moment of silently debating with herself, she finally relented and quickly walked over to the counter, pressed the eject button on the CD player and grabbed the CD that appear. Looking at the label on it that read; Old School Jams, she smiled slightly and slipped in into her purse before quietly leaving the café and stepping into the sun.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. The thunderstorm had passed the night before, but she had no doubt that another one was on its way. Except this time, it was going to be a whole lot worse.

**…OUAT…**

"Oh my God," was the first thing that Haley heard as she started to wake up. She usually wasn't a morning person and it took her a couple of moments to get everything together before she could even form a coherent thought. It took a moment for her to piece together what the hell was going on before she opened her eyes.

"Karen?" she grumbled, trying to figure out why Karen was waking her up at the crack of dawn, on a Saturday no less. It would have been weird enough if it had been Taylor, considering her sister is never up before noon on the weekend, but she couldn't figure out why Karen was even at her house. "What the hell?"

"Oh, Haley," the older woman sighed, dropping her purse on the nearest table and bending down and kneeling in front of Haley. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I can't believe you were stuck here all night."

"Huh?" was the only thing that Haley could say. She swallowed in hopes of getting the nasty morning taste out of her mouth before attempting to roll over to face Karen. The moment she began to move, her body screamed in pain. "Uhhhh," she moaned with a pout. Suddenly, she remembered exactly were she was and exactly what had happened the night before. She could also see that Brooke was nowhere in sight. She let out a snort of pain; she didn't even know why she was surprised.

"Here," Karen quickly said, moving into action and helping the poor girl get into a proper sitting position. She watched her groan as her sore muscles were forced into action and she felt terrible. She knew she shouldn't have left early last night. "Is that better?"

"A little bit," Haley mumbled, her mind still on Brooke's absence. She knew when she went to sleep the night before that things weren't going to be the way she wanted them to between her and Brooke, but for some reason, she hadn't said goodbye before she had gone to sleep. She just assumed that Brooke would have at least had the decency to stay till she woke up, given the fact that she supposedly had the same feelings as Haley did. Again, she shouldn't have been surprised. "What time is it?"

"Almost seven," Karen told her with a kind smile, laughing lightly at how cute Haley looked with her hair all disheveled. Not being about to resist, she reached out and attempted to smooth down some of her hair for her. "I'm so sorry that you got stuck here all night, sweetie. You have no idea how bad I felt all night. I couldn't sleep, I was so worried about you."

"Oh, Karen, it's okay," Haley tried to assure her. Truth was, she wasn't sure how she felt about what happened last night. On one hand, it was probably the best feeling that she had ever felt in her entire life and she wasn't sure if she would give that up for all of the pain that was undoubtedly going to ensue. "I told you to leave."

"Still, I was so worried," Karen repeated with a sad smile. "Come on, what do you say to a some coffee?"

"I say 'I love you, Karen,'" Haley told her with a smirk, amazed at how much better a simple smile from Karen can make her. She couldn't even begin to imagine her mother ever having the ability to make her feel good like that. "And also, I would say 'thank you' as well." Karen laughed and took a hold of Haley's hand, helping her to her feet and over to the counter.

"There wasn't any trouble last night?" Karen asked over her shoulder as she started the coffee up. Once everything was starting, she turned back around to face Haley.

"No, not really," Haley answered absently, her eyes glued to the empty CD player that was sitting on the counter. The top was open and the CD that Peyton had made her, the one that they had been listening to all night was missing. Karen looked at the CD player in confusion, not sure what Haley's problem was.

"Hales?"

"What?" Haley shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked at Karen, attempting an innocent smile, acting as if nothing had just happened. She racked her brain for a moment to remember what Karen had asked her. "Oh, no, no trouble at all."

"You must have been bored out of your mind," Karen laughed, knowing how easy it was for both James girls to get bored. "I was going to call your cell to see if you had remembered to leave it on, but I forgot that I had given Lucas my cell for the game, and the phone lines were down."

"That's okay, Kare," Haley laughed, happy that Karen hadn't called last night after all. It was hard enough to keep her feelings hidden when she was talking to Taylor. It wasn't like she was just going to blurt it out or anything, but just knowing she was having those thoughts about Brooke was embarrassing her enough. "Tay called and we talked for a bit. She begged me to let her come over."

"Aw, that girl would do anything for you," Karen stated fondly, knowing the words to be true. She couldn't remember ever seeing two sisters as close as Haley and Taylor were. She thought it was adorable. "I think it's sweet."

"Please," Haley laughed, even though she knew it was true. "She only asked to come because she was bored and there was nothing else to do. You know how she gets."

"Just like you?" Haley stuck her tongue out at Karen and the laughed. "Well, I'm sure part of it was because she didn't like the idea of you being here all alone all night. I know I thought about going out into the storm anyway, just to make sure you were okay."

"I was fine, don't worry," Haley assured her, leaning on her hand to attempt to cover the smirk that she could feel forming on her lips. Boy, was she fine. "It was actually kind of fun."

"Really, being here by yourself?" Karen turned around to get the mugs and everything they would need for the coffee before Haley had a chance to answer her question. "I would have been bored, so I can't imagine what you must have done."

"Well, I um, I wasn't alone so much," Haley admitted, sheepishly. She wasn't sure if she should even tell Karen about it, afraid that she might let too much slip because even though it seemed things didn't turn out too well, the night before was still amazing and she was dying to gush about it. Not to mention the fact that Karen could read her better than almost anyone.

"What do you mean?" Karen asked over her shoulder, carefully taking the coffee pot from the maker and pouring in into the mugs. After filling up the mugs, she placed the pot on the counter and turned around and placed them in front of Haley, bringing needed ingredients over as well. "Did a customer come in after I left?"

"No, actually," Haley corrected her, ripping the packet and dumping the sugar into her mug. "Uh, a girl from school, Brooke, had to stay in here too. She was on her way home when the rain just started pouring down, and she said the guy on the radio told everyone on the road to get inside. And I guess she didn't think she'd make it, so she stopped in here."

"Brooke Davis?" Karen asked, recognizing the name. Haley nodded and gave her a strange look, surprised that she actually knew who Brooke was. "I've met her a few times when I had to pick Luke up from practice. She's on the cheerleading squad, right?"

"Head cheerleader, actually," Haley corrected, making sure that she didn't let anything that could possibly be interpreted as pride slip into her voice. Was she kinda proud that the head cheerleader made out with her? Yes. Did that make her kinda shallow, even if she likes Brooke for other reasons? Yes. Did she really care at the moment? No.

"Well, then I hope you had fun," Karen smiled at her, bringing the hot coffee up to her lips and taking a small sip. Haley's smile dimmed somewhat at her words. She did have fun, she had a blast, but was that going to be the last time that was ever going to happen? Just two minutes okay, she was okay with that, but now that she thought about it, it killed her just a little bit. "You might have even made a new friend!"

"Yeah," Haley mumbled, slumping her shoulders and jutting out her lip slightly, totally forgetting about the coffee that she had sitting in front of her. "Maybe." A new friend? She doubted it. She didn't even want to be Brooke's 'friend', but if that was the best she would get, she would gladly take it. And maybe if what happened the night before hadn't happened, then maybe they could have been friends, but not now. Not after they kissed like that and Brooke knew about Haley's feelings towards her. Now that she thought about it, Brooke was probably just saying all those things to make her feel better. What had she been thinking? Brooke Davis doesn't like her, she never did. She never could.

"Honey?" Karen asked, ducking her head slightly so she could be at eye level with Haley since the other girl wouldn't met her eyes. After a moment, Haley finally looked up at Karen and the older woman was surprised and confused at the sudden sadness she could see in her brown eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I, uh," Haley stuttered, not sure what she should say to her. She wasn't okay, and she knew that Karen would be able to see that. "I think I'm just gonna go home, actually." Not giving Karen a chance to say anything, Haley slipped off the stoll, pushing the still full cup of coffee towards Karen. "Thanks for the coffee, though. I'm just kinda tired, sleeping on the floor and all. I hope you don't mind if I take tonight off, do you?"

"Of course not." Karen watched in confusion and worry as Haley quickly started gathering all of her belongings that were scattered around the Café and shoved them into her bag. "Haley, are you sure you're okay…"

"Yeah, I'm, I'm…" Haley glanced around the Café to make sure she had everything. When she decided that she did, she slung it over her shoulder and stood in front of the door. She stopped her frantic movements for a moment when she saw the genuinely concerned look on Karen's face. Deciding that she should at least give Karen that, Haley put on the best smile she could muster. "I'm okay. I promise."

"Call me later," Karen told her, not giving her room to argue. She knew that Haley was lying, anyone that knew the girl could see that, but she wasn't going to call her on it. It had something to do with Brooke, she knew that, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

"Sure," Haley smiled sadly at her. "Bye, Karen. Love you." Before Karen could say anything back, she pushed the door open and stepped outside.

"I love you, too, sweetie," Karen called out even though Haley was already on the other side of the door. With a sigh and slump of her shoulders, Karen watched her go before she started to clean up the Café before opening in half an hour.

**…OUAT…**

Haley sighed as she leaned against the closed door in the entrance to her house. She closed her eyes for a moment, refusing to let the tears come. She had fought them all the way home; she wasn't going to let them win now. After a moment, she dropped her backpack onto the floor and pushed herself off the door.

She shuffled her feet, not having the energy to actually lift them up, and poked her head into the living room to see if Taylor had fallen asleep in front of the television again. Surprisingly enough, the living room was empty, clean and silent. There was no blonde, no food or dishes all over the place, and the TV was actually turned off.

Looks like more than one strange thing happened the night before. She made out and snuggled with the head cheerleader and her sister cleaned up after herself. Some things just never ceased to amaze her.

Normally she would be up by this time, even on a weekend, making breakfast, but she was just too tired to stay up. She didn't have anything to do today except for mope. Lucas would be too tired from his away game, she didn't have to work at Karen's, and she'd bet money that Brooke had already claimed Peyton for the day.

With an even bigger pout, Haley turned on her heel and headed towards the stairs, staring up at them evilly. It was hard enough on her sore body walking all the way home when her back was in this much pain, she didn't know if she could handle stairs as well. Deciding that until her parents made Taylor pay for an elevator, she was going to have to overcome them.

"Boo," she mumbled when she reached the top of the stairs. Giving herself a moment to rest, she started to head to her bedroom, dreading having to sleep in her bed. Sleeping alone just wouldn't be the same now that she had spent the night with Brooke. Nothing was going to compare now.

Before she could get anymore depressed than she already was, an idea popped into her head. Not giving it another thought, Haley took a detour to her sister's room and pushed the door open. Quietly closing it behind her, Haley walked further into the room and towards the bed.

She didn't want to wake Taylor, she just lifted up the covers and slipped under, snuggling up to Taylor's side. A genuine smile graced her lips when she felt Taylor instinctively warp her arms around her tiny frame, hugging her little sister tightly to her. It was almost like Taylor knew she was there and that she really needed her big sister right now.

It wasn't the same as being in Brooke's arms, but it would do. Maybe in some ways it was even better. Taylor could fix anything, after all.

**...OUAT...**

I hope you guys don't hate me. I have to do it. The story would be boring if they were happy, you know that. Please, please, tell me what you think guys. Thanks, and bye bye.


	6. Back to the Disaster

_Author's Note_: Dude, check it out. It's an update and it hasn't been like two months. Anyway, enough from me. Here's the update. Enjoy and review. Thanks.

**...OUAT...**

"Tay!" Haley whined loudly, her voice booming all throughout the house. She held back the giggle that almost escaped when she heard her older sister's groan from all the way upstairs.

"What!" Taylor screamed back, struggling to find the keys to her car. She was positive that she had left them in her room that morning when they had gotten back from the grocery store. She really needed to invest on one of those necklace key chains. She could so use one of those.

"I don't feel very good," she whined again. She glanced up to make sure that the blonde was still upstairs before she leaned forward so she could reach the coffee table that was just about a foot away.

"Give me a minute," she called back down. She looked around the room one last time, before throwing the shirt she was holding back down onto her messy floor and sighed. Letting out a frustrated groan, she finally gave up and turned on her heel, making her way out of her room and towards the stairs.

"What were you doing up there?" Haley asked, quickly pushing herself back onto the couch and attempting to look as sickly as she possibly could. A moment later, she spotted the blonde descending the stairs and before she knew it, her sister was in the living room with her.

"I can't find my car keys," she pouted, shuffling over to the couch and plopping down in front of her sister, turning her body sideways so she could place her hand on Haley's forehead to check her temperature.

"You mean these ones?" Haley asked, holding up the key chain she had just found on the coffee table a moment before. Taylor's mouth fell open and she immediately snatched the keys out of her little sister's hands.

"Where did you find those?"

"They were sitting on the table where you left them."

"I did not leave them there."

"Uh, then how did they get there?"

"You stole them out of my room and pretended to find them on the table because you knew that it would drive me insane." Haley looked at her blankly for a moment, giving her a second to rethink what she had just said. After a few moments had passed and Taylor still didn't say anything, Haley decided that she was sticking to her story. She opened her mouth to say something, but then changed her mind and smiled.

"Yes," she stated. "Yes, that's exactly what happened."

"I knew it," Taylor boasted. "Once a brat always a brat." Haley rolled her eyes and grabbed her sister's hand, placing it on her forehead again.

"I don't feel good," she pouted, sending Taylor the best puppy dog eyes that she could muster on such short notice. Taylor tossed the keys back onto the table and placed her other hand on Haley's forehead, closing her eyes for a moment to try to decide whether she felt warm or not.

"You feel fine," she decided, moving her hands down to rest on either sides of Haley's face, checking to see if her cheeks were warm or not. After a moment, she pulled her hands away, poking Haley's playfully in the nose before sitting back. "I think you're fine, Hay."

"But my stomach hurts," Haley told her, lifting up her baby blue t-shirt and pointing to the exposed skin, hoping Taylor would think she was being cute. Just as she expected, she say the blonde's face soften as she shifted in her spot, so she could get a good look at Haley's belly.

"Uh oh, that doesn't look so good," she teased, resting her hands on Haley's flat stomach as if she would be able to tell if Haley's stomach really did hurt or not.

"What?" Haley asked in confusion, trying to figure out if Taylor was being serious or just playing along. She jutted out her bottom lip and peered down at her stomach in fascination, trying to see what Taylor saw. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure, so don't freak out," Taylor warned, moving her other hand onto Haley's stomach as well. "But I think I see spot."

"A spot?"

"Yeah, a spot."

"What kind of spot?"

"The kind that needs this." Without giving anymore warning, she started tickling Haley's sides, laughing hysterically when her baby sister started screaming and flopping around on the couch, trying to escape her hands. She wouldn't let her go though, as she grabbed her around the waist and continued to torture her just like that had done when they were little.

"Tay!" Haley screamed out between her giggles. "Tay! Taylor, stop! Please stop!" Finally giving up, Taylor let out a laugh and dropped the young girl back onto the couch face first into a pillow. She stood up, pulled the pillow out from under Haley's face and smacked her in the back of the head with it before dropping it randomly on her back.

"You're going to school tomorrow," she told her, earning a muffled groan when she ruffled her hair as she walked back her. "I don't care what you're hiding from, you'll have to face it sooner or later, and you might as well get it over with."

"Bite me," Haley muttered, letting out a frustrated scream into the pillow. She was so not looking forward to seeing Brooke at school tomorrow. She had tried to forget about it all weekend, but like Taylor said, she couldn't hide from her forever. It was time to face the music.

**...OUAT...**

"I'm picking you up here at what time again?" Taylor asked as she pulled her car up to the curb of Tree Hill High School and parked it for the time being. She gave a wink to the few guys that shot a smile her way before turning to her little sister in the passenger seat.

"You have no standards, do you?" Haley questioned with a smirk on her face and a shake of her head. She sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt. "You totally winked at those guys. They're not even seniors."

"Oh, Hay, it doesn't mean anything," Taylor scoffed, surprised that her sister was making such a big deal out of nothing. So she winked at some 16 year old. It wasn't like she was some 35-year-old single mother looking for her very own Ashton. "So I winked, what's the big deal? It wouldn't hurt you to wink at a few guys once in a while, you know?"

"Maybe it would," Haley chuckled, reaching into the backseat to grab her bag. She didn't want to wink at anybody that wasn't Brooke, and she certainly didn't want anyone else that wasn't Brooke winking at her. She rolled her eyes slightly at her own pathetic thoughts and grabbed at the door handle. "Be here at four, I have to tutor Nathan after school."

"I'll be here," the blonde promised, leaning over and giving her sister a quick kiss on the cheek. "Maybe I'll be a little late so you guys can have a little bit more alone time together."

"I told you, it's not like that," Haley insisted, resisting the urge to scream it at the top of her lungs. She was so sick of people assuming that just because she was tutoring the hottest guy in school that she was doing him as well. She did have some self-control and dignity. And teenagers wonder why adults always write them off as horny idiots. "He said that he just wants to be friends. He's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't like me like that."

"Well, he must be crazy then," Taylor decided, getting the mistaken impression that Haley was disappointed in her current relationship status with the star basketball player. "He would have to be not to want to be with someone as amazing and funny and beautiful and smart as my little Haley-bub."

"Thanks, Tay," Haley said, smiling weakly at her. Yeah, she was talking about Nathan, but Haley couldn't help but think of Brooke. She liked to think that the same thing applied to the bubbly cheerleader, but it didn't help as much as it would have if Haley were pining away at Nathan. "See ya at four." She began to open the door and she even got a step out before Taylor continued talking.

"Have fun at school, baby." Taylor always did this. Everytime Haley got a ride with her older sister instead of with Peyton or Lucas; Taylor would shift into uncool mother mode to embarrass the poor girl. "And remember to eat your veggies at lunch! And don't talk to strangers!" Haley rolled her eyes and avoided eye contact with anyone that looked over at the crazy blonde girl in the car. Haley shut the door and bent back down and stuck her head into the window.

"Very funny, Taylor." The blonde flashed her the biggest smile possible, finding her antics quite amusing. Haley rolled her eyes yet again, just realizing that she did that quite a lot when she was with her sister, and pulled her head out of the window. As Haley started walking away, Taylor leaned over in her seat so her head was closer to the window her sister had just been leaning into.

"I love you, Haley-bub!" Taylor screamed at the top of her lungs. She began to laugh hysterically when Haley immediately quicken her pace and attempted to hide her face from all of the students looking at her. With one more laugh and shake of her head, Taylor put the car back in drive and pealed out of the parking lot, mildly missing Brooke and some of her ho posse on her way out.

**...OUAT...**

"Hey, Pey," Haley greeted as she approached the blonde at her locker. The girl that Peyton had been talking to gave a quick goodbye and hurried off down the hall, leaving the two friends alone.

"Hey, Hales, what's up?" Haley shrugged her shoulders, and turned to begin opening her locker. She had been surprised to see Peyton waiting for her at her locker; usually Lucas was standing there.

"Nothing much," she answered, swinging her bag to the front of her body so it would be easier to pile her books inside of it. Peyton watched her as she rested most of her weight on the locker beside her friend's.

"So," she began with a smile. "Word around school is that there was some crazy chick in the parking lot this morning, dropping some brunette girl off. She was screaming out all kinds of crazy stuff."

"Really?" Haley asked as if she had no idea what she was talking about. Giving Peyton a quick glance, she quickly buried her head in her locker and continued to grab books from the top shelf and shoving them into her bag. "That's weird. Who told you that?"

"That's what Carrie was just telling me," Peyton informed her with a smirk, nodding her head in the direction that her kinda friend had just gone off in, no doubt to spread her story to even more people. "She heard it from Lizzie, who heard it from Tommy, who heard it from Tim, who saw the whole thing."

"Crazy," Haley said with a nervous laugh, hoping that her friend didn't catch the obviousness in her voice. "I wonder who the poor girl was." Without another word, she quickly went back to flipping through her math book, trying to remember what they did on Friday so she knew whether or not she needed to bring it or not. Peyton watched Haley's nervous movements and her smile continued to get bigger. After another moment, she finally decided to stop torturing her friend.

"So, Taylor dropped you off this morning, huh?" she asked knowingly. Haley quickly shut her book and looked up at her friend with helpless eyes.

"She's insane!" she immediately told her curly haired friend, absently deciding to just leave the book in her locker. "She always does that. You would think I would have learned by now that I should just walk to school, but…"

"Aw, you love it," Peyton laughed, giving the other girl a light shove to get her laughing too. It worked, as Haley couldn't help but crack a smile at her permanently retarded older sister. "There's nobody you adore more than that completely crazy big sister of yours."

"Maybe," Haley admitted with a smile, laughing despite herself. Peyton was right after all; as much as she liked to pretend that Taylor got on her nerves when she pulled stunts like that, she really did want to be just like her big sister one day, even if Taylor had dropped out of college after one semester and moved back into their parents home.

"You're a horrible liar." Peyton shook her head and laughed at her friend as she blushed and stuck her head back into her locker to avoid any further teasing.

"Hello, best friend," came the annoyingly perking voice from the other side of Haley's locker. The moment Haley heard Brooke's voice; she felt her entire body freeze and her breath catch in her throat.

"Hey, B. Davis," Peyton greeted back, her smile from teasing Haley still in place. She was surprised that Brooke would come over to see her when she was with Haley, considering the brunette usually did everything she could to avoid the tutor, especially when she was with Peyton, but Peyton just figured that Brooke didn't realize she was with Haley. "What's up, guys?"

Haley silently cursed even more at that part. It was going to be hard enough to face Brooke after what happened on Friday night at all, and even worse with Peyton there, but with the entire cheerleading squad there to witness the heartbreak? That was almost too much. Before she could give herself a heart attack, Haley closed her eyes to clear her mind and took a deep breath and closed her locker door, making her presence known to the bubbly cheerleader.

"Brooke," Haley stated, not allowing any trace of any emotion into her voice. She couldn't be angry like she was, she couldn't be needy like she wished she wasn't, and she couldn't be sad like she hated herself for being.

Just like Haley had experienced moments ago, Brooke's felt her entire body tense up and lock the moment she saw Haley's face. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to go the whole day without seeing the other girl, especially considering they had math together, but she didn't think she would be forced to have to talk to her, and especially not this early in the day. She didn't know what to say to the other girl, not after everything that she had said to her that night when they were cuddling on the floor of the Café.

"Hey, Tutor Girl," was the only thing that she could get out. She could see Haley flinch at the name and had to fight the urge to wrap her up in a big hug. She could tell that after all that they had shared in the Café, it was like a punch to the gut that she would go back to calling her Tutor Girl, like nothing had ever happened.

The group stood there in uncomfortable silence. Peyton was looking between her two best friends worriedly, not sure what was going to happen. She didn't think that Brooke would ever be mean to Haley, but there was always the chance. There was also the chance that one of the other brainless cheerleaders might say something. It was because of moments like these that she tried to keep her friendship with Haley separate from her other world with Brooke.

"Okay," Peyton drew out, clapping her hands and getting all of the attention onto her and off of the awkwardness. "Well, sorry that your sister's such a loser, Hales. I'll see you in Math?" Haley nodded mutely, not even sure what the blonde was saying. All she could think about was the way that Brooke's lips had felt against her's. "Come on, Brookie. Let's go … elsewhere."

"But, I…" Without giving Brooke a chance to say whatever she was going to say, Peyton looped her arm through Brooke's and proceeded to drag Brooke down the hallway, away from Haley. Of course, the ho posse was quick to follow, but not without giving Haley one more dirty look.

"This should be a fun day," Haley muttered under her breath, watching as Brooke was dragged down the hall. Letting out a sigh of disappointment, Haley swung her bag back onto her back and shuffled her feet towards her homeroom.

**...OUAT...**

Haley was struggling to keep her eyes open as her teacher went on and on about something that she already knew everything about. It was times like these that she wished she wasn't so smart. Okay, maybe she could stop reading ahead as well.

She leaned her head on her hand and looked around the room. She wasn't surprised to see Peyton scribbling in her notebook, drawing another one of her broody drawings that were kind of starting to freak Haley out. Her eyes traveled to where Nathan and Tim were sitting, laughing at they folded up papers into airplanes and proceeded to through them at poor Billy Gibson when the teacher turned his back to write something on the board.

She rolled her eyes at them and scanned the classroom, her eyes finally landing on Brooke's empty desk in the second row. She didn't know why she was surprised that Brooke had skipped math today. It was the only class that they had together after all, and she was positive that Brooke wanted to have nothing to do with her.

She wasn't completely stupid, she had seen the dear caught in headlights look on Brooke's face the moment she saw her that morning. She got that Brooke wanted to pretend the whole thing didn't happen; it wasn't like she wasn't expecting that. The moment she woke up in the Café on Saturday morning, she knew that Brooke thought the whole thing was a mistake.

Everything that she had felt when they kissed, it was completely one sided. Everything that Brooke had told her, all the sweet words that she had feed her, they were all lies. Brooke just didn't want to be uncomfortable. She didn't know whether that was better or worse. She finally decided that anything would be better than what she was feeling right now. All she wanted to do was kiss Brooke again, to lie in her arms again. She would give anything to get that feeling back. But it looked like that was never going to happen because Brooke never wanted to look or talk to her again, let alone kiss her.

"Haley James?" the teachers voice broke through her thoughts. It amazed her how quickly she paid attention when her name was called. She felt everyone's eyes on her as the teacher walked over to her desk and handed the piece of paper that the office aid had just handed him before taking off. "Principle Turner would like to speak to you."

"Okay," she answered, glad to get out of class. It wasn't anything strange; it was probably something to do with tutoring. Giving Peyton's outstretched hand a high five as she walked by, Haley slipped out of the classroom without any more disruption and made her way down the deserted hallway.

Just as she began to whistle the song that had been stuck in her head all weekend, she felt a hand grab her arm and before she knew what happened, she was pulled into an empty janitor's closet. She didn't have a chance to scream or question what was happening, as her lips were immediately attacked with another familiar pair. She felt her entire body go numb as hands made their way over her hips and up the back of her shirt, her own hands moving without direction and getting tangled in long, soft hair. She knew who it was immediately, not that she knew of many people that would pull her into janitor's closet for a little mid class make out session.

"I'm … supposed … to be … going … to the …" she attempted to get out in between kisses. She didn't have a chance to continue though, as her entire mouth was forced open and covered by the other girl's. At that moment in time, she couldn't think of a single reason why she had been wasting her time in class for all these years when she could have been doing something like this. She could feel her knees starting to give out underneath her, but before she could fall, she felt soft hands place themselves on her hips, holding her exactly in place without breaking the kiss for even a single second. After minutes of their tongues dueling, she was finally allowed to breathe. She could feel the smile spread on her lips, she couldn't imagine how stupid she must look, but she honestly couldn't care less at the moment. All that mattered was them.

"Turner's not even here today," Brooke giggled, planting another kiss on Haley's already swollen lips. She smiled sweetly at her and brought one her hands up from Haley's hips and attempted to run her fingers through the other girls disheveled Haley in an effort to fix it. Haley looked at her in confusion for a moment, ignoring how soothing it felt to have Brooke's hands running through her hair like that, before she felt her heart flutter as she realized what Brooke had done.

"Did you…" She let the question hang in the air, assuming that Brooke would know what she was asking her. The bright, triumphant, shit eating grin that Brooke plastered on her face told her everything she needed to know. She looked like a kid that just tricked her inexperienced father into letting her stay up late to watch an R rated movie when her mother was away for the night.

"Maybe," Brooke answered cheekily with a slight shrug of her shoulder like she did things like that everyday. Haley closed her eyes for a fraction of a second as she realized that Brooke probably did do stunts like this everyday, with countless boys that meant nothing. She quickly brushed the twitch off and decided not to think about that kind of thing now, she should just focus on the fact that Brooke Davis, the girl that had been consuming her thoughts for the past 48 hours, had her hands running all over her body, making her feel things she had only read about in Danielle Steele novels.

"You're crazy," Haley told her with an adoring smile, trying her best to forget all about the depressing thoughts that had been filling her head in class just a few minutes before and the ones that had flooded her mind just mere seconds ago. She knew that what was happening wasn't what she wanted out of Brooke, but at this point in her pathetic love sick life, she would take any piece of Brooke that she was willing to give her, even if that would only make all of this worse.

Brooke could sense the small shift in Haley's attitude immediately because she had noticed the way that her beautiful face had fallen for that split second before going right back in that amazing smile that had been on Brooke's mind all weekend. She didn't know what the other girl was thinking, but she knew that it was her fault.

She knew that maybe this course of action wasn't the best way to go about things, but she just couldn't help it. When she saw Haley that morning at her locker, she felt all the butterflies in her stomach from Friday night return in that single moment that their eyes meet. Even in that crowded hallway, with all of her friends standing around her, it felt like she and Haley were the only ones there, and she had to remind herself that it was just her mind and heart playing tricks on her, she couldn't let herself kiss Haley the way that she wanted to.

She had tried all day to push all thoughts of Haley out of her head. It would make everything so much easier if she could just forget all about what had happened between them, how earth shatteringly amazing it had felt to be that close to Haley. A part of her wished that she could go the rest of her life without thinking about that night, but she knew that would never happen. It had felt too damn good to forget. And there was also that other part of her, perhaps a bigger part than the one that wanted her to forget, that wanted her to remember it, to remember every single little detail of that night.

She was already starting to forget about some of the other parts of the night, the pointless conversations that they had shared, the greetings that they had said, but she didn't think she could ever forget the way her body felt when she was kissing Haley, or the way her mind and heart were completely at ease for that little time that they had laid cuddling on the floor.

After two classes of wishing that she could forget everything, she realized that she never wanted to. If fact, she wanted to feel it again, she wanted to always feel the way that Haley made her feel. So she dropped by the office and got whichever lovesick office aid to promise to go to her math class fifteen minutes into it and tell Mr. Miller that Principle Turner wanted to see Haley James.

Of course she knew that this was probably just making matters worse for the both of them. As much as she wished things were different, she knew that she and Haley could never share the deep romantic, loving relationship that up until Friday she had never wanted. All that they could have, if they wanted anything, was physical. They would have to be Friends With Benefits.

There wasn't a part of Brooke that didn't cringe when she thought that, but there wasn't anything she could do. Correction, there was nothing that she was willing to do, at least not in this point in her young life. She hated thinking of poor, sweet, innocent Haley 'Tutor Girl' James being her, for lack of a better term, Fuck Buddy. Not that there would be any of that, she would never do that to Haley, not with knowing how special sex was to Haley. They would be Fuck Buddies without the fucking.

But just thinking about how amazing their relationship could and should be and then comparing it to what it was slowly becoming, it was enough to make Brooke completely rethink her whole idea of going about it. Imagining the look that she knew would be on Haley's face when she tried to explain what she wanted them to be was enough to make her pull away from the other girl, realizing how heartless she was being.

"What?" Haley asked in confusion when Brooke pulled away from her, a sudden serious look on her face. One minute Brooke was being flirty and sexy and now she was looking grave and serious. "Tigger?"

"Huh?" Brooke mumbled, snapping out of her thoughts and blinking her eyes a couple of times to bring everything back into focus. The moment she looked into Haley's eyes and saw all the desire and adoration and needing radiating out of them, she knew that she wouldn't be able to leave. It didn't matter if this relationship or arrangement completely destroyed the both of them, if it meant being with Haley, kissing Haley even just one more time, she would do it over and over. "Nothing, baby."

Haley felt her heart melt at the name and deciding to be bold for the first time in her life, she pushed herself off the wall of the closet, attacking Brooke's lips in a passionate kiss, pulling the other girl even closer to her as their bodies crashed around the room, all control over themselves lost.

**...OUAT...**

Sorry that it's not as long as it usually is, but I felt like writing it, and that's all I could think of for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed, please review to tell me what you thought. Love yahs.


	7. Kissed the Girls, Made Them Cry

_Author's Note:_ Yes, I know. I know, okay. I'm sorry. That's all I've got. And this shiny new chapter. So enjoy. Please. And review. Thanks.

**...OUAT...**

Brooke Davis was in heaven. There was no better word that she could think of at the moment to describe what she was feeling. The feeling of hands wandering all over her body wasn't anything new to the most popular girl in school, but she couldn't remember hands ever being this gentle, this soft, and she liked it.

She would listen to the other girls on the squad talking about how much they liked the way their boyfriend's touched them, but Brooke just couldn't understand it. Boy's hands were rough, and big and hard. She liked the way that Haley touched her; her hands were smooth, and tiny and soft.

She didn't know how Haley did it, but it seemed that whenever the other girl's hands were on her, they managed to touch Brooke in all the right places. It wasn't even that Haley meant to do it, that she was trying to make Brooke feel the way she was feeling. In fact, Brooke was almost certain that Haley had no idea what kind of effect she was having over her, that it was just Haley's natural instincts that were driving her insane.

Brooke thought that might be part of the reason it made her feel so good, because she knew that Haley wasn't going to demand something of her that she would feel obligated to do. She could just be with Haley, see where things led, and enjoy it. It was something she didn't have to worry about, it just was.

Deciding to just go with the flow and enjoy the feelings coursing through her, Brooke tried her bet to completely shut off her brain. She was always over thinking things when she was with Haley like this. Either she was thinking about how messed up their relationship was, or she was thinking about how amazing Haley's touch made her feel.

It had been a week since the night in the Café, and since their make out session in the closet the following Monday, the girls had been secretly around and getting lost in each other at every chance they got. They would make out between classes, before school, after school, even during lunch. And other than one close call, nobody was the wiser.

It was 10 o'clock on a Friday, and Haley and Brooke were currently in the middle of a serious make out session on Haley's bed. Haley had been up in her room, doing her weekend's homework, when she heard a light taping at her window. She had immediately assumed that it was Lucas, but was more than pleasantly surprised to see Brooke's grinning face through the window.

_"What are you doing here?" Haley asked, her voice dropping down a couple notches when she remembered that Taylor was just downstairs watching whatever movie she had rented. _

_"I had nothing better to do," Brooke grinning, not waiting for an invitation as she gently pushed Haley out of the way and stepped into the room. Of course, she was lying. There were plenty of things she could be doing on a Friday night. There was always a party in Tree Hill, and although the other girl had probably never gone to one nor been invited to one, she was pretty sure that Haley knew that. _

_"I'm sure," Haley responded, not being able to hide her smile. Brooke was right, Haley was fully aware that there were plenty of other places that Brooke could be tonight. She was the most popular girl in school, after all. That thought alone was enough to make Haley ecstatic. "Why'd you come through the window?"_

_"I could see your sister in the living room watching TV," she told her absently, too busy looking around Haley's room. It was cozy, and cute, and totally Haley, she decided. It was nothing like her own room, but she imagined that Haley spent more time in here than she did in her own room. "Plus, I thought the midnight window visit would be more romantic."_

_"It's nine," Haley pointed out. "And we make out in janitor's closets, Tigger. Not exactly what romance is made of." Haley ignored the slight tightening her chest at her admission, deciding to just brush it off and ignore it. She had accepted that she and Brooke would never be like that a while ago; there was no point in hoping._

_"Forgive a girl for trying," Brooke said, grabbing something off Haley's bed and turning to her with an adoring smirk on her lips. "And who is this cutie?"_

_"That's Mr. Waffles," Haley pouted, reaching forward and snatching her favorite teddy bear out of the taller girl's hands and hugging him tightly. "Taylor gave him to me when I was 2."_

_"Aw," Brooke sighed, taking in the girl in front of her in all her adorable glory. She hadn't noticed until just then that Haley was already in her pajamas, she had glasses on and a pencil stuck in hair, presumably to hold it in place while she was writing. And she still looked absolutely gorgeous. "What were you doing before I got here?"_

_"Oh, um, I was just doing my homework," Haley answered self consciously, folding her arms over her chest and bringing Mr. Waffles closer to her. She closed her eyes the moment the words had left her mouth and silently cursed herself for her admission. Now she looked like the biggest nerd. _

_"On a Friday night?" Brooke felt horrible when she saw Haley's face fall at the question. Realizing how it must have sounded, Brooke quickly moved into action before Haley could start feeling down on herself. "I didn't know you wore glasses," she purred as she moved closer to the smaller girl. _

_"Only when I'm reading," was the only thing that Haley could manage to get out. Even after a week of their little arrangement, she still got completely self-conscious in front of the cheerleader. "I don't really like them." She moved to take them off, but Brooke's hand stopped her. _

_"Don't," she whispered, moving her body incredible close to Haley's. She licked her lips and looked down at her. "They make you look hot." Without waiting for Haley to say anything, Brooke gently unfolded Haley's arms, removed Mr. Waffles from her grip and tossed him aside. "Smart chicks are sexy."_

_Before Haley had time to process anything, she felt Brooke's lips on her's, the extra pressure causing her to stumble back a little bit. She didn't waste anytime though, and she quickly moved into the kiss, pressing her body fully against Brooke's and moving one hand into her hair and resting her other one on Brooke's hip. _

_Their tongues battled for dominance between the bites Brooke took of Haley's bottom lip. She remembered how hot Haley looked when she pouted everytime she took a gentle tug. It still surprised her everytime they kissed, just how amazing Haley was at it. She never would have thought that innocent little Tutor Girl could ever make her feel the way that she did. _

_"What if your sister comes up?" Brooke managed to ask when they had to break away for air. As much as she hated the idea of cutting this session short, she did not like the thought of being caught by anyone, including Taylor James. The smirk on Haley's face confused her. _

_"Who cares?" Haley asked in a husky voice. Haley giggled as Brooke's eyebrows knit together in confusion and surprise. With a quick glance towards her closed bedroom door, Haley hooked her finger through Brooke's belt loop and pulled her towards her, crashing their lips back together. _

_It wasn't long until the intensity of the kisses made Haley stumble back a few steps. As she did, she happened to bump into her bed, sending her crashing onto her back, and she took Brooke with her. They pulled apart for a moment to look at each other, not sure what to think of their new position. They had never made out in a position that wasn't vertical. _

_Deciding that they liked it, their lips collided once again. _

Brooke couldn't help but smile against Haley's lips as she thought about how adorable the girl underneath her was. Even when her hair was a mess, she hardly had any makeup on, and she was clad in her Yummy Sushi pajamas, Haley was still the hottest thing Brooke had even set lips on.

Deciding to move her attention from Haley's lips, Brooke moved back to the smaller girl's neck and began to work her magic, as Haley paid the same attention to her neck. She felt a shutter run through her body when Haley hit a particularly sensitive area of her neck.

Her hands clenched the sheets underneath her as she balled up her fist at the sensation. She felt her body beginning to go limp, all but falling on top on the brunette that was beneath her and making her feel like this. She was more than ready to just explode from the simple kisses when there was a knock on the door that pulled her back to reality.

"Hay!" came Taylor's booming voice from outside of the door. Moving faster than either realized was humanly possible, Haley scrambled for her comforter and pulled it over them, quickly motioning for Brooke stay underneath it. Not surprisingly, Taylor didn't wait for her sister to invite her in as she entered the room.

"God, ever heard of knocking?" Haley hissed, shifting her body until it was in a position where she could hide Brooke properly from her sister.

"Like there's anything exciting going on up here that I need to knock for," Taylor shot back, leaving the doorway and walking further into the room, much to Haley's dismay. The brunette watched her older sister walk around the room with apprehension, scared that there would be some kind of clue lying around somewhere. "What are you doing in bed? I thought you were doing homework."

"Done," Haley answered too quickly, then rolled her eyes at her actions. "I finished it already. So I thought I'd take a little nap." Brooke had to stifle a giggle at how horrible Haley was handling the situation. It was so obviously that the other girl had never done something this bad. She was horrible at lying.

"At ten o'clock on a Friday night?" Taylor laughed, plopping herself down beside Haley on the edge of the bed. Both Haley and Brooke stiffen at the extra weight that was added to the bed, positive that they were about to be busted.

"Um, I meant, I just, bed," Haley stumbled to get out. Not being able to resist, Brooke grinned evilly, and carefully moved up the bed until her head was beside Haley's. Being extremely careful because she really didn't want to get caught, she leaned forward and began to kiss and suck Haley's neck again, smirking when she felt Haley tremble beside her. "Oh, Christ!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Taylor asked in confusion when her little sister screamed out like that. She knew that there was definitely something going on with her, but that was just completely out of left field.

"Leg cramp!" Haley immediately declared, bolting up into a sitting position, causing Brooke to stop her actions as got a face full of mattress. She again found herself trying to keep in her laughter.

"What?"

"Why don't you head back downstairs?" Haley asked quickly, completely dismissing her leg cramp story in favor of getting the blonde out of her room so she could beat the crap out of Brooke. "I'll be down in a minute to watch whatever movie you rented with you."

"Are you okay?"

"Yep," Haley forced out, trying her best to ignore the feeling of Brooke's fingers drawing lazy circles on her exposed back. Taylor noticed the glazed over look on her little sister's face.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Right as rain," Haley promised, making shoeing motions with her hands. Giving up, Taylor sent the younger girl a strange look before getting off the bed and heading towards the door. She stopped at the doorway and looked back at her little sister, who was wearing the biggest fake smile she had ever seen in her life. She shook her head.

"You are so weird." Without another word, Taylor left the room, shutting the door behind her. The moment she heard the door close, Brooke burst into fits of giggles.

"Fuck," Haley sighed, pulling the cover off of the other girl and flopping down on her back in relief. "That was way too close."

"Shit, that was funny," Brooke exclaimed, not hiding her amusement at the whole thing at all. Sure, if the tables had been turned, and it was Peyton that had almost walked in on them in her bed, she would have been shitting her pants too, but it wasn't, so she could enjoy the humor of the situation.

"You're so mean," Haley pouted, rolling her head to the side to scowl at the other girl. "I can't believe you did that. We were so almost caught."

"I'm sorry," Brooke apologized, and Haley was surprised that it almost sounded genuine. Brooke laughter slowly began to die down as she gazed at the face across from her.

This was the first time that they had ever really talked. Usually their make out sessions were in silence. There would hardly be any pleasantries, sometimes just a quick hello and then they were making out. They didn't even have to ask each other before it happened; it was just an understanding between them. They both just knew when to go where. It was easier that way. Nobody's feelings got hurt by saying the wrong thing.

"I should probably go," Brooke decided silently, realizing where her thoughts were leading her. Haley didn't say anything, just bit her lip and gave her a slight nod. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Brooke finally moved to leave. She rolled over top of Haley, dropping a quick, gentle kiss on her lips as she did, before jumping off the bed.

"Bye, Tigger," Haley finally spoke as she watched Brooke open her bedroom window. Brooke stopped in mid climb, turned back and flashed her a dimply smile.

"Later, Tutor Girl." And then she was gone, leaving Haley alone. When Haley heard the cheerleader's car peeling down the street, she knew it was safe for her to finally let the tears fall.

She felt stupid, for crying, but she did it everytime. The moment Brooke was gone; she just broke down, all of her emotions crumbling around her. She always felt so used, so worthless after a session with Brooke. It didn't stop her from going to Brooke though. She still went everytime. Because what she felt when she was with Brooke was worth went she felt after.

There were always these moments, as fleeting as they were, when they were together, that would give Haley hope. Whether it was a certain way that Brooke would look at her, or the gentle way she would kiss her, but sometimes she just got this resounding feeling of hope. She didn't know if Brooke did it on purpose or not, but those little moments of normalcy, dare she say romance, kept her coming back.

There was no doubt about it; Haley had it bad. For a reason she couldn't always place, Haley really, truly liked Brooke Davis, more than she ever thought possible sometimes. And as much as she hated to admit it, everything she felt when Brooke left her, all the horrible feelings that swelled in her heart when Brooke walked away like what they did meant nothing; it was all worth it.

If only for that little hope she got at the thought of one day being with Brooke Davis in every sense of the word. She didn't know when it would happen, or even if it ever would, but she was willing to wait. She would wait forever for Brooke.

"Haley-bub!" Taylor called out from the living room. "You coming?"

"Yeah," Haley called back. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her pajamas. Taylor may be dense sometimes, but she'd definitely be able to tell that Haley had been crying. "I'll be right down."

…**OUAT…**

"You okay, Haley-bub?" Taylor asked in amusement as she clicked off the television once the movie was over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Haley told her, wiping her eyes for the second time that night. The sisters had just finished watching the Notebook, which happened to be the movie that Taylor had rented. "It was just a sad movie, that's all."

"While that's true," Taylor began, shifting in her seat on the couch to get closer to her little sister. "You aren't exactly one to cry at movies. Especially romance movies, like that one. In fact, if I remember correctly, you're always the one making fun of all the people that do cry."

"God, I'm not a robot, Tay," Haley insisted, cursing her sister for having the ability to forget what day of the week it was, but not stupid things like whether she cried during movies or not. "They both died. Come on! And James Garner is adorable!"

"What's going on, Hay?" Taylor could tell that something had been bugging her little sister all week. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was just something off about her. She wasn't as happy as she usually was, she didn't fool around with her as much as she used to. The blonde had wanted to ask her about it a couple of times, but she didn't feel like getting scolded.

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked, deciding it was best to play dumb. There was no way she was telling Taylor about her situation with Brooke, but what harm could it do to tell her how she was feeling without leading on about the cheerleader? She started to become uncomfortable under her older sister's gaze, knowing that she was going to be able to see right through her. "There's nothing going on."

"You've been acting weird all week," Taylor pressed on. She moved down the couch until she was sitting right beside Haley and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling Haley's head onto her shoulder. "I know you, Helley. There's somethings going on in that pretty little head of yours. As your big sister, I wanna know what's wrong."

"It's nothing," Haley protested again, but it was significantly weaker than the one before it. She loved her sister more than anything for being so concerned about her, but she really didn't want to talk about it. She lifted her head off Taylor's shoulder to give her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I promise."

"You're lying," Taylor announced, no longer having any desire to dance around the issue. She was convinced now more than ever that something was wrong with Haley, and she just wished the younger girl would tell her what was wrong so she could make it better. "You're crying, and it's not the first time this week, either. I heard you crying in your room the other night. I just want to know what's wrong, baby. I just wanna help you."

"It's nothing you can help with," Haley told her, finding it incredibly hard to fight the urge to spill everything to Taylor. She knew that if anyone would understand what she was going through, what she was feeling, it would be Taylor, but she was too scared. Even though she couldn't imagine Taylor judging her for the decisions that she's made, the risk was too much. Her relationship with her sister was the most important thing to her, and she could never risk losing it.

"So there is something wrong?" the blonde asked carefully. She watched as Haley silently debated with herself before she let out a sigh and rested her head against Taylor's shoulder again.

"There is," she admitted in a tiny voice. "But I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure?" It killed Taylor to know that there was something wrong with her baby sister, but there was nothing she could do about it. She wished that Haley would trust her enough to tell her about whatever it was, but she knew there was nothing she could do to make her.

"I'm sure," Haley said, nodding slightly. She felt bad about not telling her sister, knowing that it would probably hurt her feelings, but she just wasn't ready, especially considering her relationship with Brooke, if she could even call it that, was so up in limbo. "Thanks for being here though. Believe it or not, it does actually help."

"I'll always be here, baby," Taylor promised her, dropping a kiss on her head and wrapping her other arm around Haley's smaller body. "I'll always love you, no matter what. I would hope that you know that by now."

"I do," Haley assured her, letting her body relax in Taylor's arms. The blonde's words didn't do much to comfort her; they only made her feel worse actually. She felt horrible that she was even having doubts about whether Taylor would accept her for who she really was, for who she was always thinking about.

Not being able to hold them in any longer, silent tears of frustration began to fall down Haley's cheeks. She didn't know what the hell she was doing, or when her life started to get so complicated. Wait, she knew the answer to that second one; the night in the Café. She hated the person that she was becoming; she was letting Brooke string her along, she was crying over someone that didn't love her and she was lying to the one person she knew that she could always count on.

She was becoming one of those girls, one of those girls that she had always made fun of. She was becoming on of those girls in those romantic movies that she absolutely despised, the ones that were so wrapped up in whichever boy decided to look their way. She was one of those girls now. And she hated it.

She guessed that's what love did to people.

…**OUAT…**

"Hay? Haley-bub, come on," Taylor whispered, hoping to get Haley to wake up. She attempted to get off the couch, and sighed when she realized that she couldn't move. She relaxed against the back of the couch and glanced at the clock, frowning when she saw that it was already eleven.

The night before had been rough. It didn't take long for Haley's tears to turn into sobs, and it was almost a half an hour before Taylor could get her to calm down. It took everything Taylor had not to demand what was wrong with Haley so she could fix it right then and there, but she knew it would have done absolutely no good and would have only pushed her sister further away from her.

So after Haley had finally fallen into a fitful slumber, Taylor had stayed up for a bit longer to make sure that Haley was really out for the night. When the younger girl didn't wake up again, Taylor finally let herself fall into a light sleep as well.

The blonde was more than surprised to find herself waking up so late in the morning, still tangled up on the couch with her little sister tucked tightly in her arms. She thought about just letting Haley sleep some more, knowing she could probably use it considering she hadn't been getting much all week. Taylor immediately scratched the idea when she remembered that Haley had a shift at the Café starting at noon.

"Helley?" Taylor tried again, sighing when it didn't work. She shook Haley lightly, hoping the sudden movement would wake her sister. She smirked slightly when she saw Haley's eyes starting to flutter open. "Morning, sleepy head."

"Boo," Haley moaned, shutting her eyes tightly and snuggling further against her sister. It took a moment for the previous night's events to come rushing back to her. She remembered how sweet Brooke was being and almost getting caught by Taylor. She remembered crying during the Notebook when she thought about how much she wished her and Brooke could be in love like that and she remembered completely breaking down in front of Taylor and admitting that there was something wrong. Today was not going to be good. "I don't wanna get up."

"Too bad, you have to," Taylor told her. She attempted to move again, hoping that Haley would let her up now that she was awake, but it didn't look like that was happening as Haley just clung to her tighter. "No, Helley, come on. Baby, you have a shift at noon, remember? It's already eleven."

"Shit," Haley mumbled. Forgetting all about the drama that was last night and her life in general, Haley pushed herself out of Taylor's arms and quickly ran towards the stairs, taking two at time. Taylor watched after her sister with an amused grin. Shaking her head, she got off the couch and made her way towards the kitchen to get breakfast ready.

…**OUAT…**

"This is slave labor, you know?" Theresa complained, throwing her pom pom down on the ground in protest and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Stop being a drama queen, Theresa," Brooke snapped at her, turning around and taking a chug from her water bottle before tossing it back into her bag. "We sucked at the game the other night, and unlike some of you, I refuse to suck."

"That's not what I heard," Theresa mumbled under her breath, which earned her a few snickers from the cheerleaders that were close enough to hear her reply. Brooke whipped around and glared at her, silently daring her to say it again.

"Come on, Brookie," Peyton tried, stepping forward before Brooke and Theresa could get into yet again. She hated how the two of them always had to turn practice into a war zone and she was sick of always having to play mediator. "She's got a point, you're being a little hard."

"We didn't have practice yesterday after school like we were supposed to," Brooke told her, not surprised that she felt the need to interfere. She sent another glare at Theresa, who just scoffed, and pulled Peyton away from the other girls to talk. "Why do you always have to take their side?"

"Because I'm on of them," Peyton laughed, bumping her hip with Brooke. "When you get crazy and start screaming at everyone, basically just turn into a bitch, I'm in your line of fire too, so, yeah, I agree with Theresa. Lighten up, dude."

"Get tougher, dude," Brooke snapped at her, rolling her eyes at the blonde in front of her. It was like they thought she enjoyed because at school on a Saturday. She didn't. And if they got their act together, none of them would have to be there. They could all be out skanking it up, Peyton could be at home listening to her emo music, and she could be with Haley. "I'm not enjoying this either, but if you don't wanna suck, then we have to practice."

"I don't want to suck," Peyton agreed, earning a smirk from Brooke. "But I'm also extremely hungry, and I think you could at least feed the troops." Brooke looked at Peyton for a moment, and then looked at the rest of squad, who were all sitting down and trying to sleep in the few moments of peace that they were given. Brooke looked back up at Peyton and rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh.

"Fine, lunch is on me," she agreed, causing Peyton to smile. Brooke grumbled and rolled her eyes and Peyton went over to inform the squad of her success. Not having the energy to deal with them, she sighed and flopped down on the nearest bench and watched them sigh in relief at the news of being feed. Moments later, Peyton came strolling back over to her while the rest of the girls started gathering their stuff. "I take it they were happy?"

"Extremely," Peyton smirked. She rolled her eyes at her best friend's scowl and grabbed her arm, pulling the shorter girl to her feet. "Come on, let's go. Hopefully we'll beat the lunch rush."

"Where are we going?" Brooke asked, not putting up a fight when she was being dragged down the sidewalk. Once the rest of the squad was caught up to them, Peyton freed Brooke's arm, and linked her arm with her's instead. After Peyton didn't answer her right away, Brooke pulled her arm from the blonde's. "Peyton, where are we going?"

"Jeez, calm down," Peyton laughed, flashing her a reassuring smile. "We're just going to the Café. Karen makes the best food, like ever. And it's cheap."

"The Café?" Brooke choked out, stopping in her tracks at the words. They were going to the Café? She hadn't been there since that night, and she didn't plan on going there anytime soon. Especially if Haley was working.

"Yeah, Haley's working today," Peyton informed her, grabbing her arm and dragging her down the sidewalk again. "She always lets me use her discount and she'll serve us first, so it won't take long."

"Haley?" This was not good. As much as her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Haley, she didn't think it was the best idea to be seeing her with the entire squad around.

"Yes, Haley," Peyton nodded. "You know her, right? Short, adorable, brown hair, smarty pants? My other best friend?" Peyton laughed at the blank look on Brooke's face. "I know you're not her biggest fan, but she's great, and I think if you just got over yourself and gave her a chance, you love her too."

"I doubt it," was all Brooke could say, sending Peyton a tight smile. Peyton just laughed.

"Whatever. Just be nice." That wasn't going to be a problem.

…**OUAT…**

"Check out the hottie working the counter," Peyton catcalled as she walked into the half empty Café, the squad a little bit behind her. Haley turned around at her friend's voice and flashed her a smile, nodding towards the table in the corner of the Café. Peyton waved and headed towards the table Haley had indicated, as the brunette went back to work.

Brooke followed behind the rest of the cheerleaders, her hands shoved in the pockets of her sweatpants and her head down. Once everyone was seated around the table, Brooke plopped down in the chair beside Peyton, and continued to brood, ignoring the conversation that was going on around her.

Haley smiled at the elderly couple as she handed them their change and told them to have a nice day. She wiped her hands on the front of her apron before grabbing her ordering pad and moving around the counter to head over to her friend's table. She stopped short when she noticed that the entire cheerleading squad from Tree Hill High was with the blonde, including Brooke.

Haley closed her eyes for a moment to gather her strength, knowing that she was going to need it. Just the fact that the whole squad was there was bad enough, but she was going to have talk to Brooke as well, and with everything that happened after the other girl left last night, she wasn't sure how well she was going to be able to handle this all. Deciding it was now or never, Haley let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and made her way over to the table.

"Welcome to Karen's Café," she began, her eyes glancing between the pad of paper in her hand and Peyton, too afraid to look anywhere else. "I'll be your waitress this afternoon, my name is Hal…"

"Hey, everybody," Theresa interrupted her, a fake smile plastered on her fake face. "It's Tutor Girl." The squad, minus two of them, laughed. "Everybody say hello to little Tutor Girl."

"Hi, Tutor Girl," the girls chorused like the little minions that they were, and then burst into giggles at the look on Haley's face. Brooke shifted uncomfortably in her seat, biting her lip to keep from saying something. She risked a glance up at Haley, and felt horrible for not saying anything.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Peyton snapped at them, shaking her head at her own stupidity. She should have known that Theresa was going to start something with Haley. Theresa rolled her eyes at the blonde's attitude, used to being told to leave Haley alone. The rest of the squad quieted down as well, without the attitude. "Sorry, Hales."

"It's okay," she spoke, risking a glance at the other girls at the table, but still not being able to look at Brooke. She cleared her throat. "So, um, what can I get everyone?" She went around the table, writing down everyone's order, until she got to Brooke, who wasn't paying attention. "And what will you have, Tigger?"

"Huh?" Brooke's head snapped up at her nickname, surprised that Haley would call her that in front of everyone. She glanced around quickly to see if anyone had noticed, and was relieved to see that they were all too busy talking. "Oh, um, I'll just have a burger and fries."

"Okay, I'll be back with your drinks in a couple of minutes." Without anyone glance at the girls, Haley turned on her heals and hurried back to the counter. She could feel Brooke's eyes on her the whole time she walked, and couldn't help but smile slightly at that thought.

Brooke watched Haley's hips sway as she walked away from the table and found it incredible hard not to go after her. She was lucky at school, because they only had one class together, so she didn't have to deal with how out of control her raging hormones got when Haley was in sight. She watched as Haley passed the cook her orders and moved towards the back room, throwing her a wink over her shoulder as she pushed the door open and walked through.

"You okay?" Peyton asked Brooke, elbowing her lightly in the shoulder when she noticed that Brooke was staring off into space. The brunette jumped at the sudden question, turning to her friend with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm good," she told her. "I'm just gonna head to washroom, kay?"

"Kay, it's just behind that door…" Peyton started, but Brooke was already at her feet and headed towards the back room.

"I know," she quickly threw over her shoulder. Hoping that she wasn't being too obvious, but not really caring too much at the moment to be honest, Brooke sped up her pace and pushed open the door to the back room.

Before she could say anything, she felt arms wrap around her waist and pull her backwards into a body she knew better than anyone's. Letting out a mute shriek of joy, Brooke turned herself around so she was face to face with the other girl.

"Took you long enough," Haley told her, smirking against Brooke's lips as they meet in a heated kiss. Brooke laughed at her words and muttered an apology before bringing their lips crashing back together again.

All the pain and the angst and the tears from the night before seemed to leave Haley's body entirely when she was kissing Brooke, though she knew it would all come back as soon as the girl left. That didn't matter to her though, all that matter to her in that moment was how good Brooke felt against, how right everything felt when they were together. She had said before that all the pain she went through was worth it. And she meant it.

Every tear she shed was worth a kiss from Brooke.

**...OUAT...**

I know that it's nothing to exciting, but I promise it'll pick up soon, probably. Hope you liked it and please review.


	8. Nothing Left to Say

_Author's Note:_ Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've had this chapter finished for a few days now, but the site has been really weird lately and wouldn't let me update. Anyway, it's up now, and you guys can read it. It's not that great, but it's better than nothing right? I hope you enjoy it.

Timeline wise, this is a couple days (as stated) after the flashback in WWHT. I can't remember what chapter it was in at the moment, but it was called A Trip Down Memory Lane, I believe, so if you want a reminder, you can reread that.

**...OUAT...**

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Peyton asked for the hundredth times that afternoon. She slung her gym bag over her shoulder and leaned against the doorframe, waiting for Brooke's answer. The brunette sighed out of frustration and nodded her head.

"It's cool, don't worry about it," Brooke assured her, tossing her cheerleading skirt into her own bag. "I'll just get all the signs up for the game tomorrow, which I don't think will take too long…"

"Then I'll stay and help," Peyton told her, pushing off the door and taking a few steps towards her best friend. She raised an eyebrow when Brooke immediately held her hands up in an effort to stop her.

"Seriously, Pey," Brooke laughed, trying not to let her frustration with the blonde show. "I've got it. I need to get something from the library anyway, for English. So go, be with that yummy boyfriend of yours."

"Alright, alright," she relented, holding up her hands in the international sign of defeat. All it took was Brooke mentioning Jake to get her to leave. She started walking backwards out of the changing room. "You don't have to tell me twice."

"Except that I told you four times," Brooke pointed out, laughing and throwing a pom-pom at the other girl when she stuck her tongue out at her. "Later, P. Sawyer."

"Later, B. Davis." With that, the blonde was finally gone. Brooke continued to pack up her stuff and put her hair up in a loose ponytail until she heard the tires on Peyton's old car go squealing out of the school parking lot. She smiled to herself as she stepped away from her gym locker and skipped towards the door. She glanced around the empty hallways to make sure that everyone was indeed gone before making her way to the Tutoring Center.

It had only been a couple of days since that night in Haley's bedroom, when Brooke asked her to be her girlfriend and she spent the night, but since then the two of them had been spending every moment possible together. Since Brooke had cheerleading practice after school, and Haley couldn't exactly sit on the bleachers and ogle her, she had hid out in the Tutoring Center doing her homework until Brooke came and got her.

Brooke couldn't keep the smile off her face as she skipped down the hallway in the direction of her girlfriend. She never could have imagined enjoying staying after school this much, let alone that she'd have ditched her friends to hang out with Tutor Girl.

She felt that familiar Haley induced feeling in the pit of her stomach as she pushed the door to the Tutoring Center open and entered the room. Her girlfriend was the only one in there, just like they had planned, and she was sitting with her back to the door, music blaring from her headphones.

Brooke grinned at the adorable way Haley was bobbing her head to the music and silently walked towards her. She stood behind her for a moment to see what she was working on. Her face lit up when she saw that Haley had just been doodling her name all over a piece of paper in her notebook.

She felt her heart flutter a bit at the sight, finding it to be the most adorable thing. It was also a comfort considering Bevin had nearly caught her two days ago, doing the exact same thing in class. She had drifted off on the lesson, as she tended to do, and she absently started writing Haley's name over and over again, the sweet girl obviously filling her thoughts.

Luckily for her it had been Bevin of all people that had caught her, and she had easily managed to make up a believable excuse for it on the spot. If it had been anyone else; Peyton, Theresa, Nathan, Lucas, even Tim, she would have been so very busted.

After Bevin had turned around in her seat, Brooke had stared at the paper in front of her for the rest of class, not believing that she had actually been doodling Haley's name like that. Not once had she spent class doodling someone's name like a lovesick little preteen, not even when she was a lovesick preteen. It was later that night that she asked Haley to be her girlfriend.

Pushing those heartwarming thought to the back of her head, Brooke slowly leaned forward and gently covered Haley's eyes with her hands. She felt Haley tense up for a millisecond at the sudden feeling and then completely relax when she realized that it was Brooke. Haley pulled on her headphone cords and they fell out of her ears.

"Guess who?" Brooke whispered in her best sexy, husky voice. The simple question sent a shiver down Haley's spine. She loved Brooke's voice. She didn't bother giving Haley time to guess before she started kissing her neck and wrapping her arms around her loosely.

"Ew," Haley exclaimed, struggling to get out of the cheerleader's arms. "You're all sweaty! Gross!" Brooke laughed against Haley's skin, causing the shorter girl to start giggling. "Tigger, stop."

"Mm, but you taste so good," Brooke whined. She dropped one last kiss on Haley's neck before pulling back. "Fine, fine, I'll leave you alone."

"No, don't do that," Haley teased, pushing her chair back and standing up to face the other girl. "Hey, Tigger."

"Hey, girlfriend," Brooke grinned back, not being able to control the giddy feeling that washed over her at those words. She couldn't resist giving Haley a proper hello kiss, but was careful not to get the other girl wet. "Did you get a lot of hard work done?"

"Oh, uh…" Haley followed Brooke's eyes to the notebook sitting on the table behind her. She blushed at the knowing smirk on the taller girl's face. "Shut up! I was bored. And thinking about you."

"It's okay," Brooke assured her, scooping the book up and ripping the page out as Haley starting putting all her books away. "I think it's cute. In fact, I may or may not have been caught doodling your name in my book during class."

"Are you kidding?" Brooke shook her head. "Oh my God. Who caught you?" Brooke laughed and waved her hand.

"It was just Bevin," Brooke assured her. "I just told her that I had watched the Sixth Sense the night before and was Majorly crushing on Haley Joel Osmont."

"Aw, it's a good thing that girl is so stupid."

"Tell me about it," Brooke agreed with a good-hearted eye roll. "So, are you ready to go help get everything ready for the game tomorrow?" Haley nodded and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "Then let's get going. I didn't see anyone out there on the way here, so I think we're good."

"We can hold hands and everything?" Brooke didn't say anything, just linked their hands together and walked them towards the door.

They walked down the hallway in comfortable silence, just enjoying the other's company. There wasn't a single soul in the whole place, not a teacher or student, and it felt amazing to be able to walk down those hallways with clasped hands and head high. Sure, there was nobody there to see them, but they had to take it one step at a time. Maybe one day they'd be able to do the same in the middle of the day, with all their classmates there to see them.

"This feels nice," Haley couldn't help but comment. The weight of the situation was far from lost on her, but she wasn't sure if her girlfriend saw it to. "You know, walking down these halls together, like this."

"I know," Brooke whispered, brining their linked hands up to her lips and kissing Haley's knuckles. "Maybe one day we'll be able to do this right."

"Yeah," Haley nodded, a wistful smile on her face at the thought. "One day." She didn't care if they came out to the whole world tomorrow, because she had Brooke and she had never been more proud, but she knew Brooke didn't feel the same way, she couldn't. Brooke wasn't just dating a girl, she was dating Tutor Girl, and Haley couldn't imagine her being willing to risk her status just for her.

"Okay," Brooke began once they had entered the gym. "So, how about you start putting those signs up while I go have a shower, since apparently I'm sweating like a pig?" Haley giggled and poked her in the stomach.

"Deal." Brooke gave her a quick kiss and a smack on the ass before heading off into the locker room. Haley smiled after her for a second, still not believing her luck. She shook her head and walked over to the pile of signs that the cheerleaders had made.

The brunette hummed to herself, careful not to sing encase Brooke snuck up on her, as she put tape on the back of the Bristol board and stuck them to the walls. She laughed at the spelling mistakes on a few of them, deciding they must be Bevin's, but didn't bother to correct them.

She sifted through the pile for her next one, but was surprised to see it was a sign they had made for the dance the following week. She pouted at it for a second before placing it to the side and continued her assigned task. She had them all up by the time she heard Brooke re-enter the gym.

"Wow, it looks amazing, baby," she gushed as she looked around. "You did an excellent job. You'll have to put up the signs for all the home games."

"How convenient that your shower ended after all the work was done," Haley observed as she stuck the last sign to the wall and sat down on the bleachers. Brooke gave her the best innocent look someone of her reputation could muster and walked over.

"I don't know what you're insinuating, Miss James, but I'm assuming it's not very nice." Haley stuck her tongue out at Brooke as the girl walked up the bleachers to sit behind the shorter girl. Once Brooke was situated, she pulled Haley back to sit between her legs and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Hey, you."

"Hey, you back." Haley sighed at the feeling of Brooke's kisses on her neck. It was like the perfect moment, just sitting there with Brooke. She wished it could always be like this. "So, what are our plan for that night?"

"What night?" Brooke asked between kisses. She slowly started a trail from Haley's collarbone all the way up to her ear, and back again.

"The night of the dance," Haley explained, pointing to the sign she had put aside. She completely missed Brooke's abrupt stop in her trial up her neck. "Obviously I know that we can't go, so what's the plan? We going to a movie or what? Maybe a little making out in the back…"

"Look, Hales, about that," Brooke stammered, pulling away from Haley's neck and detaching herself all together. Haley felt the panic wash over her and she could feel her perfect little bubble starting to burst. "I, um…"

"Tigger?" Haley questioned unsurely. She turned around on the bench to face the cheerleader. She became even more worried when Brooke refused to meet her gaze. "Brooke, what's going on?"

"I'm going to that dance, Haley," Brooke finally stated, the thought sounding even worse once she said it out loud. "I don't want to, but Brett Marana asked me, and if I said no, everyone would know something was up and…"

"You have a date?" Haley asked incredulously. She closed her eyes tight when she saw Brooke starting to nod her head. "You have a date to the dance with the starting quarter back?"

"Kinda…"

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Haley questioned, standing and pacing back and forth in front of the other brunette. "Or were you gonna lie to me that night and just go to the dance with your new boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Brooke immediately defended, jumping to the floor and trying to calm the other girl down. "You are! Girlfriend, whatever! My point is that he doesn't mean anything to me. He asked me before we were official."

"Then why are you going with him?"

"It's not like I can go with you," Brooke tried to explain. She stepped forward and brought Haley's hands into her own. "You have to understand; I'm Brooke Davis, head cheerleader, most popular girl in school. How do you think it would make me look if I cancelled on the star quarter back?"

"You're also Brooke Davis; my girlfriend," Haley responded softly, seeing the regret in Brooke's eyes at her words. "At least I thought you were. How do you think it makes me feel to know that you're going to the dance with one of the most popular guys in school?" Brooke opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when she realized how lame her reply was. "That's the problem with us, Brooke. You care more about how you look to the rest of the school than how I feel." Brooke watched helplessly as Haley gently released her hands and pulled away, grabbing her bag.

"Baby…"

"This was nice while it lasted," she told her as she walked backwards towards the gym doors. She shook her head and pushed the door open. She paused before she left and turned back to Brooke with a devastated smile on her face. "So much for someday, huh? I'll see you around, Brooke Davis."

**…OUAT…**

"You're late," Taylor mused as she heard the front door open, signaling that her little sister was finally home from school. "I was starting to worry that I was gonna have to make my own dinner or something."

"I'm not in the mood, Taylor," Haley snapped, throwing her bag roughly against the wall and taking the steps two at a time, not stopping until she was in her room.

"O-Kay," Taylor spoke to herself in confusion, wincing when the vibration of Haley's slamming door practically rattled the entire house. She closed her eyes and counted silently in her head for her sister's emo music to fill the house. Almost exactly on queue, Haley's music started and Taylor rolled her eyes. "A big sister's job is never done."

She sighed, flicked off the television and stood up, tossing the pillow back on the couch where she had been sitting. It was obvious that there was something wrong with Haley, and even though she was pretty positive that the last thing Haley wanted to do was talk about it with her, she had to try. She would be a horrible big sister if she did otherwise.

She took the stairs much slower than her sister did, and walked towards Haley's door. She stood in front of it for a moment, silently debating whether she should knock or just walk in. If she walked in, she would no doubt have to dodge some type of flying object, but if she knock, she was just as positive that her sister wouldn't welcome her inside. She sighed, rolled her eyes and turned the knob, pushing the door open. She wasn't surprised to see her sister sprawled out on her bed, face in her pillow.

"Go away, Tay," Haley mumbled, not so much hearing her older sister come inside, but more sensing it than anything else. She also knew it wouldn't take the blonde long to follow her up the stairs.

"Hay, come on," the blonde started, surprised at the tone in her sister's voice. She went up there expecting to find her sister in a pissed off mood, not crying. Her features immediately softened. She closed the door behind her for no reason as she stepped into the room. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Haley mumbled, sniffling as she turned her head to the side so Taylor could hear her properly. She wasn't sure whether she was annoyed or grateful when the older girl sat down on the bed beside her.

"Emo kids always want to talk about it," Taylor told her, grabbing the remote off Haley's nightstand and turning down the music so they could actually have a conversation. She rubbed Haley's back in an attempt to calm her little sister down. "So, what happened?"

"I just had a bad day," Haley told her, turning over so she was lying on her back and looking up at her sister. Taylor's hand continued to rub Haley's stomach, and the brunette slowly wiped at her eyes. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Was it Nathan?" Taylor asked even though she knew exactly what answer she was going to get. Everytime she mentioned the boy her sister would get all defensive and keep telling her that they didn't like each other like that. At first Taylor thought it was just because Haley was embarrassed about having her first crush, but now that Nathan has stopped coming over and the growing frustration Haley was showing her in regards to her teasing, she was really starting to believe that they were just friends.

"Tay," Haley groaned, smiling slightly at her older sister's question. She kinda got the impression that Taylor knew they weren't going out, but just liked to tease her about it still, to drive her crazy. She also had to smile at just how wrong Taylor was in her guessing. "You know it's not about Nathan."

"I know, I know," the blonde relented, feeling a little better when she saw the small smile playing on Haley's lips. Her eyes were still glistening with tears, but even that small smile was enough for her for now. "Just tell me, do I need to beat anyone up?"

"What?" Haley asked, giggling slightly at the other girls offer. Taylor smiled back at her and tickled her sides a little, which got a louder giggle out of Haley.

"Did someone make you cry?" Taylor explained, her voice growing a little more serious. "Cause you know if someone made you cry than I'm gonna have to beat them down. Nobody makes my baby sister cry and gets away with it."

"You're sweet," Haley told her, taking Taylor's hand in her's and giving it a squeeze. She looked up at Taylor and could see all the concern behind her jokes. She gave her a sad smile and shook her head. "But you don't need to beat anyone up. It was all my fault."

"I find that hard to believe," the older girl spoke, wishing Haley would just tell her what was wrong so she could make it right again. She knew Haley wouldn't tell her though and she knew that when Haley said it was her fault she wasn't covering for anyone, she just tended to blame herself for everything.

"It was my own stupidity," Haley sighed. She swallowed past the lump forming in her throat, marveling at how fast the she started to cry at just the mere thought of Brooke now. She wouldn't let herself cry this time because it wasn't worth it. At least that's what she was going to tell herself.

"So there's nothing I can do?" Taylor hated feeling useless, especially when her baby sister and best friend in the whole entire world was in pain and there was nothing she could do about it.

Haley locked eyes with her sister and after seeing the desperation there; she really contemplated telling Taylor everything. There was a huge part of her that wanted to tell her about the night in the Café, the Friends with Benefits situation, how Brooke made her feel, just everything. She knew her sister better than she knew anyone, and she knew deep down that the blonde would never judge her for her relationship with Brooke, but there was just something in her that couldn't tell her sister.

She wasn't sure if it was fear of being rejected for their relationship or if it was because she was ashamed of the whole thing. She wasn't ashamed of being with another girl, especially not another girl that she loved as much as she loved Brooke, but ashamed for letting things get that far. She couldn't deny that there was still a part of her that was ashamed of letting Brooke treat her the way she had treated her.

She was done with that though. She had proved that this afternoon when she walked out on Brooke. She had accepted the fact that she was in love with Brooke a long time ago, she hadn't told her that, but it didn't make it any less true. She also knew that even though Brooke wanted to be her girlfriend and was treating her so much better than she had before, she still didn't love her. Haley was okay with that though, she knew Brooke cared about her, and that was enough for now.

She was willing to wait for Brooke, give her time to get used to the idea of them, and just process everything and sort her feelings out. Haley knew it had to be a confusing time for her because she obviously didn't have as much time to think about their situation as Haley did, so she was cutting the cheerleader some slack. But after what Brooke told her in the gym, Haley just couldn't forget that. She had to put her foot down somewhere and her girlfriend going to a dance with another guy was it.

She had to talk to Brooke about this. It was going to be one of the hardest conversations ever, and as much as she didn't want to do it, she had to. The things she was going to say to Brooke would hurt her, but she knew if she just let this slide, it would hurt her even more. She was through playing this game with Brooke.

"Hales?" Taylor called softly after noticed that the younger girl had drifted off for a few minutes there. Haley took a moment to register her sister's voice, but gave Taylor her full attention when she was completely out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," Haley told her. "What'd you say?"

"I asked if there was anything I could do?" Taylor repeated, getting more and more worried about Haley as the minutes passed. She had never seen her little sister this upset or spaced out before.

"Just stay here with me for a bit?" Taylor's heart squeezed when she heard how lost and scared her baby sister sounded. She nodded her head and let herself be pulled down to lie on the bed.

"As long as you need," Taylor promised her, wrapping a protective arm around Haley's waist and pulling her closer. She kissed the back of her neck and just laid there in silence, letting Haley work out her problems in her head and her heart.

**…OUAT…**

Brooke sighed as she flopped down on her bed. She glanced towards her cell phone and debated whether or not she should call again. She quickly decided against that almost the moment she thought it. She had already called Haley three times since the girl had left her that afternoon, and the two times Taylor had answered, she had told her that Haley wasn't much in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Idiot," Brooke mumbled to herself. She couldn't believe how fast things had gone from perfect to complete crap. She was constantly in awe of her own stupidity. As much as she wished she couldn't, she totally understood why Haley was so upset with her. It was a horrible thing to do in the first place.

Before Brooke had a chance to think about it any longer, her phone started ringing beside her. She dove for it and frowned when she saw Peyton's name flash across the screen. There was only one person she wanted to talk to. And even though she knew the odds of Haley calling were quite slim, she didn't want to tie up the line, just incase. She tossed it back on the bed beside her and put the pillow over her face.

It seemed like as soon as the ringing stopped, it started again. Letting out a groan of frustration, Brooke reached for the phone and answered it.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Then stop calling my house," Haley responded in a monotone voice. It had been an hour since her peep talk with Taylor and her older sister had just left to go get dinner ready for them. They were gonna have a girl's night in, something that Haley was in serious need of.

"Haley!" Brooke cheered, her bad mood quickly vanishing and being replaced with excitement. She didn't care that Haley sounded pissed off or not; all that mattered to her right now was that Haley was returning her calls. It wasn't much, but it was certainly a start. "I'm so glad you called. About earlier…"

"I'm just calling to tell you to stop calling me," Haley interrupted her. She needed to get this over with as soon as possible before Brooke started begging and she gave in. She would always have a weak spot for Brooke Davis, but this was one of those times that she needed to stand up for herself. Even if it meant the end of them.

"Baby…"

"No, Brooke," Haley stopped her, closing her eyes at that one word. "Taylor's already starting to get suspicious and if she puts together that you're the reason I came home crying, she'll come over there and kick the shit out of you." Brooke didn't care about Taylor; not if she found out of them or if she beat her up. All Brooke heard was the fact that Haley had gone home crying. She had promised herself just a couple of days ago that she was never going to make Haley cry again.

"Just let me explain…"

"There's nothing to explain, Brooke." Getting up from her bed, Haley stuck her head out the door to make sure Taylor was really downstairs and then shut it. She closed the door and leaned against it to gather her strength. "You're going on a date with some other guy. How do you explain that?"

"It's not a date," Brooke insisted, feeling her frustration at herself and the situation starting to overcome her. She wasn't exactly known for her patience nor was she good at making amends. "And I agreed before we were a official. And it's not like anything is gonna happen with him."

"It's not about that," Haley snapped, closing her eyes and resting her head against the cool wood of her door. "It's about the way you treat me, Brooke, the way you treat us. I get that we can't be out in the open, not in a small town like Tree Hill, but it's like your ashamed of me or worried about losing your rep or something."

"That's not it," Brooke stated, her voice forceful. "I could never be ashamed of you or our relationship."

"Then why do we have to be so secretive?" Haley asked, biting her bottom lip in an attempt to stop herself from crying. "Like I said, I get that we can't exactly come out, not yet, but why can't we at least be _friends_? You don't even want to tell Peyton that we hang out. Why are you so embarrassed by me?"

"I am not embarrassed by you," Brooke insisted, sitting up on her bed and leaning her back against the headboard. "Us being together, even as friends, after all the crap I originally put Peyton through for being friends with you, it would set off too many flags, even in their empty little heads."

"Who cares!" Haley exploded, for the briefest of second not caring if Taylor heard her little outburst or not. She came to her senses and lowered her voice. "Jesus, Brooke. All you care about is your reputation! You don't give a shit about how I feel about sneaking around, as long as you still get to be little Miss Popular."

"I do care about you, Hales," Brooke whispered, fighting back her own tears. "More than you know, I just need time." As Brooke was speaking she was willing herself to just shut up. The truth was, the more time she spent with Haley, the less her image mattered to her, but she just didn't think she was strong enough to deal with everything.

"Well, I'm sick of waiting, Brooke," Haley told her. Almost the moment she said the words, she wanted to take them back. She couldn't though, and deep down inside of her, she was glad that they were out there finally. She could hear Brooke sniffling on the other end and she took a deep breath. "I can't do this anymore, Brooke. I thought I could, I wish I could, but it just hurts too much."

"Baby, you don't mean that," Brooke immediately cried. She could feel her throat starting to inch and she screwed her eyes shut to stop the rush of tears she felt coming.

"I have to mean that," Haley whispered. "You have no idea how hard this is for me to say, but I have to do this, for my sanity. I thought I could deal with just having a part of you, but it turns out that I can't. I need all of you, Brooke, or none of you."

The only answer Haley got was Brooke's heavy breathing on the other end. She could hear Brooke's sniffles and she knew she was crying. That meant something to her. At least she knew Brooke cared enough to actually be upset at the ultimatum. She just wished that was enough to fix them.

"I don't know what to say," the cheerleader admitted, hugging herself around the waist. She could feel her entire body shake as she started to cry harder. She felt so helpless. She had never been in a situation like this before, never been in a relationship, and she was terrified. The way Haley made her feel scared her to death.

"I think you've already said enough," she told her, her voice wavering for the first time during the call. She roughly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I really, really like you Brooke. I actually think I might love you, but you don't feel the same and that's okay because it's not your fault. You can't control who you love, because if I could, I wouldn't let myself love you. This would be so much easier if I didn't feel the way I do."

"I…"

"Please don't say anything, Brooke," Haley begged her, clenching her fist at her side. This was so much harder than she thought it was gonna be. "Just … I don't know, do what you have to do. Sort out your feelings or whatever, find out where I fit in and then let me know when you've figured it all out, okay?"

"Okay," Brooke choked out, not knowing what else she could possibly say to stop this from happening. She knew she couldn't drag Haley along forever, but she was hoping that they'd have a little bit more time. She dropped her head against the headboard in defeat, unconsciously mirroring her now ex-girlfriend's position, and listened to Haley's jagged breathing.

The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes, neither of them wanting to hang up, but both knowing that they had to. Brooke let her eyes wander around her room for some kind of idea of something to say, but there was nothing. There was absolutely nothing she could say. She felt like she had to say something though. There were so many things that she _wanted_ to say, but they would probably just make things worse at this point.

"Baby, I…" she tried, but the words died on her lips. She didn't even know what she was going to say, she just needed to say something.

"I'll, um, yeah," Haley breathed, at a total lose for words as well. "I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess." Brooke barely heard Haley's weak farewell before she heard the dial tone mocking her in the most annoying way. She slowly let the phone slid down from her ear and into her lap. She looked at it in disbelief for a moment, as if it were the machine's fault that she was miserable now.

She thought about whipping it across the room and watching it smash against the wall and break into pieces like her heart, but instead she tossed it back onto her nightstand and crawled up into a ball and she cried.

**...OUAT...**

It had to be done. Orginally, this was gonna be longer, but I'm really not that into this story anymore, and I'm just inching to start a new one, so I'll probably be condensing things to get this finished in a few chapters.

Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought.


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